The Child of Rule Twelve
by Broken Piece of the Puzzle
Summary: Six years ago, two special agents broke rule twelve. One agent, an Israeli, left without a trace. The other, an Italian, found a new true love. Both, forgot it ever happened. So, what happens when six years catches up with them in the most colorful, pleasant, and absolutely adorable and Israeli-Italian way? Will they come together, or forever crumble?
1. Prologue

**Hola! It's glad to get back to the writing world again. Sorry it took me so long to get back but life has been very chaotic. _Very. _So this is the first time I've really had to write and publish something.**

**I'm currently working on new chapters for almost all of my stories so if you hadn't read any of them, check them out quickly because I'm almost done with two or three of them. **

**I thought I had to write this because of a dream I had, and because there was a little girl, named Talia (which I now love) and decided I had to make a story from it.**

**So, Viola!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, it's characters, or anything else related. **

* * *

**The Child of Rule Twelve **

**Prologue:**

Tony DiNozzo walked into the bullpen.

It was Monday, like any other day.

Like any other week, really.

It was quiet.

There wasn't any laughing, or movie references (on his part), it was just peace and quiet.

And he didn't like it.

And he knew why.

He hated that.

His best friend, his teammate, his partner, was gone.

* * *

"_Ziver. You've got a call in MTAC." Gibbs called from the catwalk. _

_She stood up from her desk and headed speedily up the stairs, Tony quickly on her tail. _

_She headed into MTAC where her father appeared on the screen. _

"_Ziva." He said gruffly. _

"_Father." She replied just as coldly. _

"_Leon tells me you are involved in something…illegal." _

_She glared at her, "There is no proof." _

"_Tell them, Zivalah." _

"_There is nothing to tell!" she shouted. _

_Just then, two probationary agents walked in with boxes in arms. "Director, we, uh, found this at Ms. David's-"_

_She turned and glared at the screen, "Vous mettez en place!" __**You set me up!**_

"_I did no such thing." Eli replied. _

_She glared at him before angrily storming from MTAC. _

_He glanced at his boss before running after her, "Ziva! Ziva!" he grabbed her arm. _

_She looked at him stone-faced. _

"_Why?" he questioned after a long silence. _

_She slapped him, "For you to even __**ASK **__that question, shows me who you really are." She jammed her thumb against the down button and stepped inside the elevator. Just as the door began to close he grabbed her arm, tightly. _

"_This is assault." She stated. _

"_Then what is this?" he cupped the back of her neck and kissed her. _

_She only just pulled away, slightly, "You know you're kissing a terrorist, correct?" she whispered, against his lips, ever so lightly. _

"_I never said I believed that." He murmured back. _

_She smirked and wrapped her arms around his neck, and allowed the elevator doors to close. She let him press her against the wall and unbutton her blouse, only to re-button it as they came to the ground floor. _

_The doors opened and she stood on the line dictating whether they would close or not, he stepped directly in front of her. _

_She shrugged, "This is your chance," she said quietly. "I am vulnerable," she gestured to her lopsided blouse, "and almost undressed." She smirked; she flipped the collar of his shirt, "One time only." _

_Tony DiNozzo was not one for letting opportunities go, not even this one. _

_So, he slept with her. _

_He slept with his partner. _

_He slept with Ziva David. _

_He broke Rule 12. _

_And to be honest, he would do it all over again, just to be with her. _

_Just to have her, in his arms. _

_Her dark curls brushing against his chin. _

_Her arched back molding against his chest. _

_Her heart beating against his hand. _

_Her angelic face as she slept. _

_He had all of it, and then it was taken away from him. _

_He lost her dark curls, her arched back, her beating heart, and her angelic face, he lost it all. _

_He lost it when she left. _

_Her body was not in his arms when he woke up the next morning. _

_Her side of the bed was presently folded, including a mint on the pillow. _

_Not a note, or a phone call, or even a letter. _

_All he had were memories, and an earring, which she left by the door. _

_Like Cinderella, as the clock struck midnight._

* * *

But that was close to six years ago.

Things had changed, or not changed rather.

Gibbs was still head of the team, McGee was still the nerd, and he…he was just him.

The only difference was that instead of correcting an Israeli about English idioms, he was channeling his inner movie dictionary.

E.J. Barrett was his perfect match in McGee and Abby's eyes but to it wasn't the same.

It didn't matter, what McGee and Abby thought, he had his match.

Someone sent her back to him.

Someone sent Jeanne back.

He figured it was a sign to let Ziva go, after she disappeared, and find a new love, one that wouldn't leave him. No matter how many times he thought about her.

_Everything is tied together by a thin string, and once you tug, everything falls apart._

* * *

**I have several chapters written out but I would like to know what you actually think because** _**OBVIOUSLY **_**Talia is over done, but hopefully I took a unique spin on it. **

**The next chapter marks the start of a scientific challenge (which I had to google most of) and the guest star of an NCIS rival. **

**Anyone want to take a guess? **

**It's someone who you'll ultimately hate. (Or maybe two.) **

**Take a guess, or write a review, anything to give me some insight! Thanks! **

**Until the next review-**

**P.S. The beginning of the story takes place in Season 6. But instead of Season 6 being in 2008-2009, it now takes place in 2005-2006. For my whole timeline to work out. It'll be explained more later. (Hopefully I didn't confuse anyone) **

**!Broken Piece!**


	2. Chapter 1

**So, the previous chapter was an epilogue and this is the actual _beginning _of the story. Just FYI I'm not a scientist so please excuse me if the DNA sciencey-stuff is wrong. But I made sure to do some _major _googleling.**

**~Broken Piece. **

**Disclaimer still applies..**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Slip. Slip. _

_Type. Type. _

_Clink. Clink. _

That's all you hear in the bullpen these days.

Movie references, gone.

Teasing, gone.

Nicknames, gone.

That was all gone, up until the day, _she, _arrived.

* * *

"Gear up!" rang throughout the bullpen once more as the fearless, and fox-like Leroy Jethro Gibbs strolled in. A cup of coffee in hand.

"Where to boss?" Tony asked as he shrugged on his gear.

"Parking garage near Shenandoah Park."

"Dead petty officer?" E.J. asked.

"Nope."

McGee gave the two of them a look, as they came to walk side by side of each other, "You know what that means."

"Indecent exposure.

* * *

But it wasn't indecent exposure.

It was plain and simple, murder.

A car crash, two cars smashed into each other smack dab in the middle of the parking garage. Blood seemed to douse every corner.

It didn't seem like a normal car accident.

There was only one body, and even though the other car was covered in blood too, there wasn't a body to go with it.

"I say time of death at about, midnight."

Tony opened the trunk of one of the cars, he pulled out a suitcase, "Looks like they were going somewhere."

"Check it DiNozzo to see if we can get an ID of who was driving the car." Gibbs instructed. The license plate was a giant help since it was a rental that led to a false name.

Tony dug through the suitcase only to find a few t-shirts and skirts, "There's a woman boss."

"Uh…" EJ held up a brown teddy bear, covered in blood. "I think there's more than a woman involved."

McGee shrugged, "My sister still sleeps with her teddy bear."

Tony reached deeper into the folds of the suitcase, he pulled out a pair of Disney underpants, "Your sister still wear Disney underpants, Tim?"

"Uh, no."

"Oh dear." Ducky said, he looked down at the dead cadaver, "For once, can you tell us what happened?"

* * *

"So, what do we got?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the bullpen, three hours later after getting his everything settled in his team.

Tony was the first to bolt up, "Uh, boss. Um, so far we know that the dead cadaver in the second car was Petty Officer Andrew Christina. Twenty-three. Uh, Married to Angelina Monstaro. Has one child. Her name is Elliott. She's almost six. Petty Officer Christina is stationed at Norfolk. He was about to deploy."

"Anything else? Motive?"

"His daughter goes to a very prestigious school." McGee brought up as he came to stand next to them.

"So? Since when did school go with murder?" EJ asked as she stood next to Tony.

"They have a waiting list. It takes at least two years to get in. Lots of parents might be jealous that the daughter of a petty officer can just get in, without waiting a long period of time."

"Would you really _kill _someone to get into a school? I mean there's millions out there."

McGee shrugged, "_This school, _you learn two languages so your child is bilingual. They have two swimming pools, three gymnasiums, two football fields, a hockey, soccer, and lacrosse field, this school is basically every Ivy League parent's _dream." _

E.J. nudged Tony in the side, who smirked, "I'm perfectly fine with a regular top ten school."

"And Jeanne?"

He gave her a small smile, "What is Princeton again?"

"McGee and E.J. check out this so called, _spectacular school, _now."

…

McGee's description did not do the school justice. He forgot to mention it had four campuses on one-hundred twenty acres, three playgrounds, two auditoriums, kid-friendly classrooms, three music rooms, five art studios, four libraries, and several courtyards and lunch rooms.

The Kensington Preparatory School for Creative Students was one for the marks.

The headmaster of the Pre-kindergarten-Twelfth Grade, Dr. Colleen Kollimore, was waiting for E.J. and McGee when they arrived.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two." She said as she extended her hand.

E.J. smiled and shook it, "Erica Jane Barrett. It's nice to meet you. Agent Timothy McGee, and I have a few questions."

Dr. Kollimore nodded, "Sure, please, follow me."

She led the two agents up the steps into the grand building; it fell into a large grand foyer like area that a nice fancy color with doors lined with hooks and cubbies.

"This is the elementary section of the school. We have four campuses. This campus serves Pre-Kindergarten through second grade. Across the street is our next campus, it serves third through fifth. Then down street is our middle campus, grades sixth through eighth, and then high school is about fifteen minutes away." They walked past a grand doorway that led inside a room filled with shelves of books and magazines, along with multiples tables and chairs.

"This is out library. It was donated by one of our benefactors."

"Speaking of," EJ started.

"Your school has quite a long list for upcoming students."

Dr. Kollimore nodded, "Yes."

"Has that ever caused _problems?" _

Dr. Kollimore shook her head, "We've had upset parents before, but nothing serious." She stopped in front of a cubby and straightened a pair of rain boots, "We, also, have students from our upper school come and read to our younger students."

"Have you ever had to call the police on a parent?" McGee asked.

Dr. Kollimore shook her head, "God, no. Of course not. Our parents get along very well," she smiled at the two agents, "And I'm sure you two will settle in just fine."

"Oh, no," E.J. said quickly. "Doctor Kollimore, we are not a couple. We're special agents. We're here to investigate a murder."

"Who?" she asked, shocked.

"Andrew Christina. I do believe you have his daughter here. Elliott?"

Dr. Kollimore smiled fondly, "Oh, yes, Elliott, such a fond girl. Very bright. She's in our pre-kindergarten program."

"A child in your pre-kindergarten, are they attomatically guareenteeed a spot in your kindergarten?"

Dr. Kollimore nodded, "If no circumstances proceed."

They stopped in front of a classroom that was brightly decorated with a large carpet and color drawings on the wall, "This is Elliott's classroom. Ms. Amelia's class."

E.J. nodded, "Dr. Kollimore, forgive me for asking, but does the fact that Elliott's father being a petty officer help her chances?"

Dr. Kollimore looked at her for a moment, "Elliott came a very _fine _preschool, she is very bright, her test scores were so well that it would be a shame not to admit her. The fact that her father serves for our country has nothing to do with it. It is nice to know that we are helping our future generations of our heroes."

E.J. nodded and smiled, "Okay."

McGee took notice of the older girls in the classroom dressed in the usual prep school uniform, "Our school requires that every child in third through twelfth wear ou uniform. Our pre-kindergarten through second grade does not have to wear the uniform, but they have to abide by the dress code."

Suddenly, a blonde woman rushed by, in tears and swooped a little girl off her feet. She cried.

"That is Mrs. Christina." Dr. Kollimore explained.

Mrs. Christina cradled her daughter tightly as she gathered up her stuff. As they both walked out, E.J. politely, or as politely as you could, ask her to come to NCIS as soon as possible.

Mrs. Christina agreed, as Elliott played with her mother's necklace, completely clueless as to what was going on.

"Goodbye, Elliott." Dr. Kollimore said as she ruffled her hair.

"Bye, Dr. Kolli!"

Dr. Kollimore smiled as Mrs. Christina walked away.

"Any other questions?"

E.J. shook her head, "No. Thank you."

* * *

"Their little girl is _adorable." _E.J. said to Tony as she and McGee came back to the bullpen. "But that school, gosh, it's like college all over again."

"Oh yeah?"

"Tuition is thirty-thousand a year."

"That's almost my whole salary." Tony said.

"Looks like you and Jeanne won't be having any kids, any time soon."

Tony nodded, "Try, _forever. Like eternity, like-" _

"Shut up, DiNozzo." Gibbs said as he reappeared behind him.

"Shutting up boss."

"What do we got?"

"Um, when we went to the school, the victim's wife was there to pick up her daughter."

"Anything else?"

"The headmaster at the school, says that admission is competitive, but not deadly. It's mainly based on test scores, and what preschool you come from. Overall, I think they have some favoritism to Military."

Gibbs nodded, "That really a bad thing?" McGee questioned.

The ring of Leroy's cell phone broke the conversation as he pressed it to his ear and muttered the usual, "Gibbs." But before he had a chance to say anything else, Abby crashed into him.

"What's wrong, Abs?" he asked.

"I got the DNA from the blood in the car."

"And?"

She eyed Tony, "It was a partial match…in _our _database."

"Who Abs?"

"…Tony."

Gibbs turned around and eyed his agent, "Why was _your _blood at the crime scene?"

"Boss, I-, I-"

"Wait, Gibbs, I said a _partial _match."

"What does that mean?" E.J. asked.

Abby sighed and fiddled with the iPad in her arms, "Genetics. People inhert their genes from their parents, alleles. So a baby inherits a set from their mom, and a set from their dad."

"What does that mean, Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"It's Tony's kid. Gibbs."

* * *

**So, obviously, I know that the child gets two sets of genes (one from the mom and one from the dad) but that's all I know. So, sorry if what happened isn't exactly _sciencetifically _correct but I try to make it close. **

**Anyway, next chapter you'll get to see my interpritation of Jeanne and what would have happened if they had stayed together. (BTW, in my calendar of events, after Ziva left, 'Internal Affairs' happened. The one where Jeanne asked Tony was it really and instead of him saying 'No' he said 'Yes' and they kissed and made up and yada, yada, NON-Tiva stuff. It'll be explained later.)**

**Big plans, I see. **

**~Broken Piece. **

**P.S. For all my 'When You Were With Her' and 'Ice Cream Cooties' I am almost done and since I have practically a whole week of writing I can probably get them up quickly. **

**P.S.S. I would be an awesome to have ten little birthday presents waiting for me when I open my email...:) **

**!~Broken Piece~!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Another Chapter mates...**

**Disclaimer still applies...**

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

"What!" Seemed to be the remark of the hour.

"You're sure Abs?" Tony asked as he fell back onto his chair.

Abby nodded, "DNA doesn't lie."

"Who's the mother?" Tony asked.

Abby shrugged, "I'm still running that."

"Well, didn't you donate your sperm in college?" McGee asked.

"McGee!" Tony screeched.

EJ stifled a laugh, "You did?"

"Yeah." Tony said lowly.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because…I could. I felt I should _imburse _the world."

"Does Jeanne know?"

"Yeah." he said in an annoyed tone.

EJ smirked, "And how did _she _feel about another woman carrying your child?"

"She thought it was a very kind thing to do for women who wanted a very beautiful child, and couldn't find someone who could deliver such beautifulness."

McGee nudged her, "Otherwise none as, sleeping on the couch." He murmured to her.

"Hey." Tony said.

"It was only a small amount though." Abby said, changing the conversation. "So, she's probably okay."

"She?" Tony said.

Abby nodded, "I found little girl's clothing, and a pink teddy bear that said 'It's a Girl' on it and it seemed pretty old."

Gibbs kissed Abby's cheek, "Call me, when you find out more, Abs."

Abby nodded, "You have my Bert promise."

Gibbs smiled, "I'll put a Caf-Pow on your tab."

Abby nodded and turned to leave, but turned around, "From the clothing, I'd say she's no older than five."

"DiNozzo go back six years."

"You want me to make a list of all the women I've slept with, since '06?"

EJ whistled, "I don't think it's advisable to let Jeanne see that list."

* * *

_Camila B. _

_Alli C. _

_Veronica W. _

_Sierra C. _

He tapped his chin, as he sat over his Subway lunch at a table, in a local cul-de-sac.

He felt hands slid down his chest, and nibbled at his ear, "Bonjour, Cherie."

He chuckled and flipped over the notebook, as his girlfriend of three years, Jeanne Benoit, sat down next to him.

"I thought you had a long day…" he murmured against her lips.

She smiled as she kissed him; she pulled away and lightly bit his bottom lip, "Lunch."

"How long?" he asked.

She shrugged and checked her watch, "Two hours."

He wiggled his eyebrows and she playfully hit him, "_No. _Because then I have to take a shower and explain why I have scratches on my back."

"I do believe _you_ put the scratches…"

She smirked before breaking off a piece of his brownie and popping it into her mouth, "So, what are you doing here?"

"Enjoying nature."

"I can tell when you're lying."

"I am. I am enjoying nature, relaxing."

She smirked, "What's on the notebook?"

"Work."

"Oh." She said, looking away. She eyed the notebook, "On Lunch?"

"It's nothing you need to be worried about." He assured her.

Jeanne sighed, "How are we supposed to have a family if you're working _all the time?_"

"You work all the time."

"I don't work through lunch."

"You don't _have _lunch sometimes." He countered.

She leant up against her knuckles, "I want to have a baby. Seeing, Julie with a baby isn't enough. Babysitting isn't the same. Everyone's having a baby, but me."

"Kids are expensive. The case we're working on, these kids go to a thirty-thousand dollar school. And they're still in diapers."

Jeanne shrugged, "So?"

"That's half my salary."

"Was it the Kensington Preparatory School for Creative Students? I _love _that school. Tony, they have two courses. One where you take English courses and still have French classes, while with the other one, it's primarily French. You speak in French all the time. Wouldn't that be amazing, our baby could be bilingual!"

"And we'll be broke."

Jeanne laughed, "And then when he-"

"Or she," Tony reminded her.

"Is smart and rich they'll buy us a beach house." Jeanne finished.

"Genius." Tony commented. He clapped, "Genius."

She traced a circle in his hand, "What about _Amanda?"_

"Whoa, let's wait until you're pregnant first." He said quickly. "Unless you want a dog."

She smirked, "I don't know…"

"Jeanne, that's not funny."

"Tom was scheduled but missed his flight."

He pecked her on the lips, "I hate your code."

"I hate the fact that you haven't offered me the rest of that brownie yet."

He shrugged, "You can have it if you want."

"Share it with me."

She broke it in half, and fed him his, "So what are we doing tonight?"

He kissed the crook of her neck, "How about you meet me at NCIS and we'll take a nice stroll down the some streets and then head to my place to watch a movie."

She smirked, "_Our _place?"

He kissed her jawline, "Right, sorry, _our, _place."

She smiled, "Just remember who pays half the rent."

* * *

_**This is part A of the another chapter, I MIGHT post B tonight or tomorrow depending on the responses I get (IDK why I'm writing in italics) **_

_***I'm still working on Ice Cream Cooties and When You Were With Her **_

_**** I would like to thank all my previous reviewers for making me feel OKAY that all my facts don't have to be pin-to-pin, because trust me I was fretting over that all night. **_

_*****To: 'Not A Scienctist' Ziva's DNA will pop up but Tony's was already in like the immediate database so it would be faster (in my mind; not really a scienctist or NCIS agent) **_

_******To: 'NYT': Thanks! I tried finding info about their salary but here it just says it's at least 30K, and Tony makes it seems so small! **_

_*******Thanks again to all of past and present readers! I love my FanFic fam! **_

_********The next chapter (and eight others) are already typed I just need you guys's support. **_

_**Tata for now**_

_**!~Broken Piece~!**_


	4. Chapter 2 Part II

_**I'm too nice. **_

_**Disclaimer still applies...**_

* * *

_**Chapter 2 (Part II)**_

That was beginning…

That was the last normal day of his life.

It took another two days before his life was changed.

It all began to become unusual when he walked into the building, early Monday morning.

He got smirks and chuckles from the security guards as he reentered the building. He just figured they had seen him with Jeanne and were giving him a hard time.

But then, _other _people began giving him weird smirks and smiles.

Not goofy security agents, more like Agents he often sees at the Christmas party or even worked with a few times.

He found himself looking over his shoulder as he stepped into the elevator, and sniffing his suit as he rode up.

He shrugged as it stopped at his floor and stepped off.

He stopped in his tracks as his eyes came to rest on his desk.

_This is where the normal stopped, and the weird began. And never stopped. _

She had that oh-so-familiar olive tone skin, and long dark brown locks. She spun around in his chair, aimlessly, while everyone else watched her.

He slowly walked up to his desk, "Hi." He said.

She looked up at him, "Hi."

Her nose, he knew that nose, and those ears, and the way her eyebrows arched.

_He knew. _

She slid off his chair, "Is this _yours?" _she asked.

He nodded, "Yeah." he breathed.

She gripped the edges of her denim jacket, as she read his name off a business card on his desk, "Special Agent, An-Tony…Di…DiNozzio!"

He smiled, "Close enough." His breath staggered, her eyes began to wander as she glanced at the many faces staring at her. She waved to them, "Bonjour!"

A few brave ones waved back, and she gave a small smile.

She turned back to Tony and stuck out her hand, "It's nice to meet you."

He touched it gently, "Hi…um…"All he was prepared for was that she would be a girl, and about six. Not her name, or anything else.

"My name is Talia. Talia Madeleine." She piped up.

He nodded, he knew that name, "That's very beautiful." He took notice of the blood on her hand.

"Talia, what happened to your hand?"

She looked down at it and quickly stuck her hands in her skirt pockets, "Oh….Uh, I don't wanna talk about it."

"So…how'd you get here?"

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a business card, she handed it to him. Scribbled on the back was: _Leroy Jethro Gibbs. _Written in neat cursive. On the front was his name.

"Who gave this to you?"

"Mommy."

"Who's mommy?" he knew. He just wanted to hear her say it.

Talia shrugged, "I can only write it."

He rushed a piece of paper at her, "Here,"

She took the pen from his desk, and began writing on the paper, just as Gibbs, McGee, E.J., and Abby walked in.

"New Girlfriend?" E.J. questioned as she slid down at her desk. "A little young."

Talia blinked at her, "Ew, you could get cooties from boyfriends."

EJ laughed, "Yes, you can."

"I'm Talia." Tali said. "That's Tony. Do you know Tony?"

EJ nodded, "Yes, sadly."

"Talia, hold on, you didn't finish."

Talia sighed, "I don't _have _to." She turned around and shrugged her backpack off her shoulders. She reached in and pulled out an envelope, "Here. It's on the line after mine." She explained.

She handed him the envelope. Gibbs came over to crowd his shoulder, "So much for doubts." He muttered.

Tony looked down at Talia, "This is her."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded, printed of the line where the mother was supposed to be was _Ziva David, _and directly next to her name was his.

_Father; Anthony D. DiNozzo. _

* * *

**_And the plot thickens! _**

**_More about Talia, Ziva, and where the heck have they been next chapter. _**

**_!~Broken Piece~!_**


	5. Chapter 3

**Reviews galore! And so...another chapter. **

**Disclaimer still applies...**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Abby bent down in front of Talia, "She looks just like her." She murmured. She held out her hand, "Hi, I'm Abby. What's your name?"

Talia smiled, missing tooth, smile, "Abby. My mommy told me about you. She said you had lots 'a pigtails and tattoos!" she giggled. "And you have a farting hippo!"

"Oh yeah?"

Talia nodded, "I'm Talia. But my mom likes to call me Tali, or Lia. But when she's mad she says, _Talia Madeleine, _really loud, and in another language. Hebrew to be 'zac."

"Oh really?"

Talia nodded, "But it doesn't happen a lot."

"How old are you Talia?" EJ asked.

"Five. Well," she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out five dollars and three quarters. "I'm that many." She stated. "I'll be _six _in February."

"When's your birthday?" Abby asked.

"Wait, Talia, how'd you get here?" Gibbs asked.

Talia frowned, "I don't want to talk about it…"

"Oh, Talia. What happened to your hand?"

"She doesn't want to talk about." Tony answered for her.

"Well, can our doctor look at it for you?" Abby asked.

"He's very nice." EJ added.

"Will it involve shots? Because I don't like shots."

Abby laughed and shook her head, "I don't think so."

Talia nodded, "Okay." She looked up at Tony, "Can he come with me?" she asked, more directly at Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded, "Anything you want."

"I'll call Ducky." McGee said as he picked up his phone.

"His name is Ducky?" Talia asked excitedly. "Is he a duck?"

"No."

"Then why is he called Ducky?" she asked.

"You can ask him when he gets here." EJ said as she linked hands with Abby.

"We'll take her to the conference room." Tony said as Talia grabbed his hand.

"I'm right behind ya DiNozzo." Gibbs said. "Right behind, ya."

* * *

"So, we are _sure _this is Tony and Ziva's child?" Ducky whispered as Gibbs lead him towards the conference room door.

Gibbs smirked as he pushed open the door, "Ice Age, was the best movie _ever." _

Ducky glanced back at Gibbs, "Any doubts, now, doc?"

"Are you Ducky?" Talia asked.

Ducky nodded, "Yes, I am. And who might you be?"

She stuck out her hand, "I'm Talia. But you can call me Tali."

"My, my, I have lived many years and have met a Tasha, Tania, but never a Talia. It is my pleasure, to meet one so beautiful." He kissed her hand.

Talia giggled, "Thank you."

"Donald Mallard. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"I have a question." Talia said.

"Go ahead."

"Do people call you Ducky because of Donald Duck?"

Ducky chuckled, "I have never thought about it that way before…"

Talia smiled, "My mom says I'm smart."

Ducky tapped her nose, "I agree with her."

"Are you gonna give me a _shot?" _Tali asked.

Ducky rolled up her sleeve, "No, my dear. I might just put on a new bandage but that's it." He looked back at Gibbs, "It was a rushed job, but _somebody _made sure she was okay first." He said lowly.

Tali kicked her feet quietly as he played with the edges of her pink and blue ruffled skirt, with pink leggings. Her purple shirt with a giant sunflower sewn on front was dashed with sparkles that matched her twinkling brown eyes.

"It's just a small cut." Ducky said as he applied some antiseptic cream on the four inch cut. "No scar." He reassured her.

Gibbs lightly touched Tali's hand, "Tali."

She looked up at him, "Yes?" she asked innocently.

"What happened?"

Tali frowned; she spat something in Hebrew, and jerked her arm away, "Leave me alone."

"Tali all we want to know is what happened, that's it. That's all." Tony said from his spot by the door.

A light bulb seemed to flash in his head, "Hey Tali…"

* * *

"And you're sure you can eat _all _of this?" Tony asked as he watched the nearly six year old; precisely dissect a triple ice cream sundae, at his desk.

Tali grinned and nodded, "Yes, sir."

He watched her grab the spoon and was about to dig in, when he pulled it away from her. She gave him a hurt look, "Hey!"

"You can have this…but _only _after you tell me what happened."

She raised an eyebrow, "I don't want it then."

He shrugged; "Okay…" he pulled another spoon out from his pocket, and pulled one of the cherries off the top. He swallowed it whole, "Yum."

"Are you sure?" he asked as he took a slip of whipped cream from the top. "I mean with all this whipped cream, chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, Oreo crumbs, chocolate flakes, _and _three different kinds of _ice cream!" _

Tali licked her tiny lips and began to squirm; "We were with Uncle Ryan…" she started quietly.

"Where were you going?"

"To our new 'partment."

"You guys were moving here?"

Tali nodded, "I guess."

"And them what happened?"

"A black car crashed into ours and another car, mommy was screaming. Uncle Ryan," she laughed. "Had a headyache. Mommy said it was because he had a big head."

"Was mommy hurt?" he asked.

Tali shook her head, "She only had a few cuts. And scrapes," she rubbed her elbow for emphasis. "But she said she was okay. She fixed my arm. Uncle Ryan went after the guy. Mommy said she had to, too. But I had to be safe first. She hugged me and told me she loved me _very _much and that she would be back soon. She gave me that piece of paper and told me to come here."

"Your mom left you _alone?_"

Tali shook her head, "No. She dropped me off here. Well, we had to go to a hotel first and wait until Uncle Ryan came back. And then I fell asleep, but they were saying something. It sounded like tongue-clucking. Mommy does it sometimes." She shrugged, "When I woke up, we were here, she kissed my head and said she loved me and to give that card to _you._ And then she left, but gave me this." Tali pulled the oh-so-fresh Star of David out of her shirt, "As a promise that she'd come back." She clutched it tightly, "Mommy always keeps her promises."

"So, mommy was here?"

"In the _car_." Tali annoyingly sighed. "Can I have the ice cream now?"

Tony nodded and pushed it back in front of her, he ruffled her hair, "Thanks, Tal."

"Wel'cum." She said through gushes of ice cream.

He walked around his desk and stood in the entrance before stopping, "Tali."

"Yes?" she asked as she prepared to dig in again.

"How come you didn't want to tell anybody?"

Tali shrugged, "Because…Mommy cried. Mommy never cries."

"Is mommy strong?"

Tali nodded, "She's my _superhero. _I love her more than anything in the whole wide world. More than ice cream."

"Wow. That's a lot."

Tali nodded, "Yeah. _A lot._"

* * *

"Got her to talk."

He nodded and stood by the man he called 'boss' and felt him as more of a dad than his own, "She is _my _kid after all."

He received that signature glare he had been given year after year, "Abby did a DNA test." He turned and looked at Gibbs. "She's mine."

"She's almost six."

Tony nodded, "Yes." He ran a hand through his hair, "I can't believe she's alive. She, when she left I thought for sure, she was a gonner boss. It's been six years, she's still slick, I guess. But when she left…"

"That's when you killed Rivkin and everything was blown to hell."

Tony nodded again, "Yes."

"When?"

His mouth contoured back and forth, before he swallowed, "That night."

"Why?"

He shrugged, "I got caught up in the moment…We both did."

"And now…" he gestured down to where a little girl was laughing at EJ's attempt to make a paper basketball basket.

"I know."

"I have rules for a reason…."

"You learn from your own, mistakes…boss?"

He changed the subject quickly, "What are you gonna do?"

Tony shrugged, "I don't know…'Kinda wish she had told me. Let me something. Gave me something." He looked down at Tali, "…Six years…That's a long time."

Gibbs shrugged, "Not really."

"I missed her first steps, her first words, her-"

The stinging pain that burned his cheek and not his head stopped him, and gave him whiplash, "Boss?"

"Stop thinking about what you missed and you're gonna see-"

"What if she won't let me?"

The stern man turned and placed a hand on his agent's shoulder, a fatherly gesture he hadn't received in a long time, "If she sent her here, she did it because she remembered what it felt like to be a family. To feel safe. That's what we are. Even if she's not here, she sent someone in her place."

He looked down at Talia, "Six years and she already just like her."

Gibbs nudged his shoulder with his fist, "'Don't believe Ziver would have ever gone on about the same movie for over an hour." He said in his agent's ear before heading down the stairs.

Tony smirked over his shoulder, "Hey DiNozzo!" Gibbs called over his shoulder. He pointed towards the conference room, "There's something in the conference room for you."

Tony looked curiously at him for a moment before bouncing down the stairs.

* * *

**Well? What do you think could be awaiting in the conference room? **

**Give me your guesses and I'll give you another chapter. And some explanations. **

**And as for Jeanne...I _know _a lot of people hate her, but (I'm really sorry) she's a big part in this story. There is some romance but there is always a twist. I mean why else would I put in the most hated character (besides Ray Cruz, Michael Rivkin, and basically any other romance character on NCIS) in my story? Trust me. **

**It will end badly. **

**For everyone. **

**:)**

**!~Broken Piece~!**


	6. Chapter 4

**Thanks to all of my reviews from last chapter. And to everybody who guessed Ziva and/or Jeanne you were close but no cigar. Want to find out what it was? **

**Read and find out! **

**Disclaimer still applies...**

**A/N: Please ignore the Chapter Seven alert that's coming into your email. This is the proper one. **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

He bounded down the hall and opened the conference room door speedily. He furrowed his eyebrows together and looked puzzled.

All that was there was Talia's pink and purple backpack, sitting on the table.

He figured he left it therevafter he promised (scratch that) _bribed _her with ice cream.

He walked over to it slowly, and peeked inside.

There was the usual; crayons, coloring books, mittens, a tiny stuffed bear, a small juice box and animal crackers. Then his hand brushed up against the back part of the backpack, he reached into the compartment and pulled out a manila envelope.

It read '_Confidential: Hand Deliver to Anthony D. DiNozzo.' _On the very front cover.

He scratched an eyebrow and sucked in a breath before undoing the tie.

He turned away and dumped the contents onto the table.

He turned back slowly and made sure the envelope wasn't covered in any suspicious powder.

He then turned it onto the table; he saw an Italian passport in which he opened to a recent picture of Talia. He found another passport, this one American.

Same story.

He found everyday pictures of his girl, swinging on swing or blowing bubbles, he couldn't help but smile.

His eyes stopped on a series of crisp, white, unfolded paper that was sticking out of the folder.

He pulled them out, slowly and carefully.

They were addressed to him.

They were dated, starting all the way to May of 2005.

They were from Ziva.

He fumbled with the first letter quickly, hoping he would have answers to all the questions he had.

* * *

_Dear Tony, _

_Last night was…unexpected. And, not in a bad way, for sure. But…it got out of hand and I left. I know it was abrupt but I knew that if I stayed both our lives would be ruined, and not because of Gibbs's fury. I left because I know who did this; I know who set me up. I know. I would tell you but I know you would go after him and make matters worse. _

_So, leave me be let me handle my business and I…perhaps I shall see you again, but you know our job-…sorry, old job, was very dangerous and my new one is even more difficult and skeptical. _

_To not try and find me, do not tell Abby, just wipe her tears for me and tell her I am sorry but I must do what I must to protect the ones I love._

_~Ziva. _

* * *

He frowned; they weren't exactly the answers he was hoping for. It was barely anything. They were barely dust.

He turned to the next one.

* * *

_Dear Tony, _

_No, I am still on the run. _

_I have decided though, that, I will not send you these letters. (Mainly because I do not have a valid address). And because you would not understand, at all. You would do something rash, or get yourself or Gibbs in trouble and I would not want that. _

_But I tell you, I am still looking for my puppet master and I do not believe I am any closer. _

_I think I am coming down with something, perhaps it was all these bugs or maybe I touched the wrong vine. _

_I must go now, I hear rustling in the leaves and something tells me puma's are not friendly. _

_At all. _

_Not Lions, or Pumas, or Cobras' Oh My!_

_~Ziva. _

* * *

He laughed at her attempts to remember the idiom. He looked at the date, _July 15__th__. _Not even three months and she had already revolted back.

* * *

_Dear Tony, _

_I figured out what was wrong with me. _

_It has nothing to do with the vines, or the water. _

_It's something much bigger. _

_MUCH bigger._

_~Ziva._

* * *

He touched the tip of the next letter, preparing to read the words.

They never came.

* * *

_Dear Tony, _

_I'm Late. _

_~Ziva. _

* * *

Then came the next one.

* * *

_Dear Tony, _

_It's official. _

_I'm pregnant. _

_With your baby._

_And you'll never know. _

_~Ziva._

* * *

"And you used a contraction. Good ninja." He muttered. He noticed a giant two month gap in between that letter and the next one. He came to the conclusion that either she didn't the news well, or she had found her 'puppet master'.

* * *

_September 5__th__, 2005. _

_Dear Tony, _

_I've decided to put off my hunt. _

_For now. _

_Only until I know the baby is okay, and safe. _

_I do not wish to her it in any harm, than it should not be. _

_You need not worry. We are both in a safe place, a place we are both fond of. _

_Do not come looking. No matter how pleasant it may seem. _

_~Ziva. _

* * *

He moved on to the next which seemed to be the shortest.

* * *

_Dear Tony, _

_I think it's a boy. _

_~Ziva. _

* * *

And then the next.

* * *

_Dear Tony, _

_I felt the baby kick today. _

_It was amazing. _

_I kind of wish you were here. _

_But I feel it is a lot safer, and better, for you, me, and the baby. _

_I am doing this for all of us. _

_~Ziva. _

* * *

He noticed the next had a something attached to the back; he flipped it over before reading it. It was an ultrasound photo with a tiny pink bow, supposedly, where the head was.

He gave a small smile and turned it over.

* * *

_Dear Tony, _

_I found out what we're having. _

_I don't know if you want to know, but you know secrets are not my specialty. _

_It's a Girl. _

_We're having a daughter. _

_A little girl. _

_I wonder with all these possibilities, what will she look like? Who will she act like? Will she be quiet or shy? Will she like books or movies? Will she walk or talk first?_

_Will she say Ima or Momma? _

_Possibilities…_

_~Ziva. _

* * *

He knew he was supposed to be frustrated, angry, upset, and every other synonym, but he had already taken it out on the elevator and he couldn't drink his sorrows away anymore.

He went on to read the next one, even if it nearly upset him.

He noticed another jump.

* * *

_December 15, 2005 _

_Dear Tony, _

_I began thinking of names…for the baby, I mean. _

_At first I thought, Sophia or Sofia. But, she does not feel like a Sophia/Sofia. Or maybe Madeleine. I believe she needs an exciting name since she is a very…special baby. The woman next door to me suggested Tess, I like Tess. I remember you saying you like Tess. And Maria, and Bella, and Violet. _

_Madeline, Tess, Maria, Bella, Violet, Valentina, Anastasia and…I even added Claire for you. _

_~Ziva. _

* * *

He noticed another jump, and a short letter.

_February 12, 2006 _

_Dear Tony, _

_I think I am in labor. _

_They do not teach this part in Mossad. _

_The pain in unimaginable. _

_I do not think I am even two centimeters dilated. _

_~Ziva. _

* * *

He counted three days later.

* * *

_February 15, 2006. _

_Dear Tony, _

_I had our daughter yesterday. _

_Her name is Talia. _

_I know how much you liked that name, and what meaning it has to me. _

_I named her Talia Madeleine. (I did not like Claire and her last name went well.)_

_She was born on the most romantic day of the year, ironic? No? _

_She was seven pounds, four and a half ounces. Seventeen inches. _

_She has lots of curls. And adorable cheeks. _

_And her little feet._

_I think she looks like you, but others do not think so. _

_I will try to get her to footprint this paper, but right now she is being difficult. _

_She is already acting like a DiNozzo. _

_~Ziva. _

* * *

He frowned at the word '_others'. _Why could _other _people be at his daughter's birth and not him? The father of all people! I mean, he was important too.

He saw the tiny foot and handprints, and a small photo in which she was lying in a hospital bed holding a bundled, curly-haired baby named Talia.

Even through his anger, he couldn't disagree she didn't look radiant.

He only saw one more letter in the pile.

He picked it up and read it aloud, "Dear Tony, I have our daughter. I say _our _but we are not an, _our, _we are just two people who…made a binding life changing choice. I will not say mistake because she is not a mistake, she was just a child of bad timing but I do believe I read somewhere that there is no such thing as bad timing, just _inconvenient _time. I know my name and face are mud at NCIS, as everyone is to think I am a traitor and it was hard for me to comprehend at a time but I now have someone who loves me no matter how much I screw up. Even if she has no teeth…I wonder how long that should last. Until she is a teenager, yes? I know that you will never meet Talia. You hate me for leaving, for giving up, for abandoning you and the team, and for not telling you of our daughter, but do you really believe that we could have done this? All of it? Survived Gibbs, my father, the baby, not including clearing everything up and then life would never be the same…I think this is best. You go back to having your old life, with your friends and the team. And I shall have my Talia. My team. My cheerleader…Ziva."

He wanted crumble that letter up the most, he wanted to throw it. He wanted to stick it in cement and throw it at her, where she was.

How could she _not _think they wouldn't protect her? Better yet, why didn't she think he could be a good father? If Jeanne thought so, why couldn't she?

"You are a strange, strange, woman Ziva David." He said as he shook his head. "A strange woman, that I may never understand."

* * *

**Review! **


	7. Chapter 5

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! The reviews make this story come alive. So gracias, and here's the next chapter. **

**Disclaimer still applies...**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

He knew it was coming.

He simply knew it.

He made a promise to her, one that she made him keep.

He had two women depending on him and he couldn't disappoint either one of them.

Talia had entertained the entire team with continuous stories and movie summaries. He tried to think about everything that happened, what was to come, and how in the world was he was supposed to explain this to Jeanne.

He gazed, he gazed at his little girl, who went on about how the first Ice Age was better than the second.

He listened to her laugh, Ziva's laugh.

He watched her smile. Ziva's smile.

He did not want to be perceived as a sap who could just forgive at anything, but he was a different man than before.

"Hey Tali, how would you like an apple?" Abby asked as she handed Gibbs another case file.

Talia scrunched her face, "Not really."

Abby smiled, "I thought so, how about some pudding instead?"

Tali grinned, "Okay." Abby held onto her hand and Talia latched on quickly, "We'll be right back, okay?" Abby told him.

He nodded dazedly as he twirled a pen in his hand, "Sure."

"I'll tell you what happens to Sid when I get back." Tali promised him before following Abby towards the break room.

EJ smiled over at him, "Well…" she sighed.

"Something on your mind?"

"I've been here for four years, and I don't think I would have ever seen Tony DiNozzo as a _baby daddy." _

He chuckled, "You didn't know me six years ago…"

"Six years is a long time." EJ stated.

He nodded, "Or so I've been told."

EJ leaned against her fists, "So…Why do you think…now?"

"Hey Barrett, go see if Ducky has anything new on the body." Gibbs called as he read over the case file.

EJ nodded, "Sure, Gibbs." She smirked at Tony before catching the nearest elevator.

Gibbs walked over and placed the file on Tony's desk, "Do I need to call Cranston?" he asked.

Tony made a distinguished sound between a scoff and a laugh as he rubbed his nose, "No, boss."

"You were off in la-la land a minute ago, slacking off."

"Maybe that's because I just found out I have a _kid." _

"You've had this scare a couple times before."

Tony smirked, "_This _is different."

"Because you cared for her." Gibbs replied. Tony angled his head to the side, "I saw you two's little eye glances, and meetings at the bar." He placed a hand on Tony's shoulder, "The way she came to you before me."

Tony nodded, "We were…uh, close."

"Well, what's stopping you now?"

He opened his mouth to speak but nothing spilled out, Gibbs nodded, "Explains a lot."

* * *

5:00

4 more hours to go.

Talia wandered from desk to desk, hoping that _someone _could occupy her with something. EJ allowed her to shred some old files, McGee let her play on an old PSP system, and Gibbs let her watch a DVD on his computer.

After a fourth of the movie, she paused it and slowly slipped from Gibbs's desk and crossed over to her father's.

She leaned against the corner, "Hi."

"Hi." He answered back.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Work."

"Oh." She said quietly. "Can I help?"

"I thought you were watching a movie."

Tali shrugged, "It got boring."

"What movie were you watching?"

"Cars."

"What's it about?"

She cocked her head to the side, like her mother used to do, "_Cars, _duh_." _

He tapped his head, "Right, duh."

"Can I help you with anything?" she asked again.

Tony shook his head, "I don't think so."

"Oh." She softly kicked the floor with the tip of her shoe, she sighed, "Okay…" she turned and began to walk away when guilt over came him.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her up into his lap, "Alright, maybe you _could _help me."

Tali smiled and looked up at him, "Like what?"

"Which Disney Park would you go to for an anniversary?"

"What's an annieversary?" Tali asked.

"It's kind of like a birthday."

"Oh, my birthday is Valentine's Day."

"I know."

"I always get red velvet cupcakes on my birthday." Tali went on.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. And I get lots and lots of presents."

"Oh yeah? What _kind _of presents?"

Tali tapped her chin, "Uh…Dolls, Teddy Bears, and lots and lots toys."

"What kind of toys?"

"Water balloons and Princess dresses…but I left that all with Mommy." Tali grew quiet and she hugged him tightly, "When is Mommy coming back?"

He, unsure on what exactly sure what to do, tentatively began rubbing her small back, softly, "Um, soon, I think, Tali…soon."

She sighed and he could feel small tears dripping onto his shirt, he knew she was crying but he didn't exactly know what would make her feel better.

Then it struck him, she was Ziva's child.

And if there was one thing Ziva loved more than martial arts, it was spending other people's money.

"Hey, Tali, how would _you _like to go _shopping?" _

* * *

Thank God there was a toy store two blocks down or else he would have had a _major _temper tantrum on his hands.

He grabbed a shopping cart and had to tempt the nearly six year old with a pink Sleeping Beauty dress, but after that he was done. His life savings were probably gone.

"Okay, Talia, um, is there really a need to have _three _dress-updresses? They're just different colors."

Talia gawked at him, "The pink dress goes with the purple shoes, and the purple dress goes with the pink shoes, and then the Green dress goes with the blue shoes."

"Why don't you just get a rainbow dress?" he joked.

Talia nodded eagerly, "Good idea! Then it'll go with the _white _shoes!" she placed another Teddy bear in the basket before running to find said dress.

"Tali! No, I was just kidding." He called after her.

He sighed and sat down in one of the mini rocking chairs, he noticed two cloth legs sticking out from up under a pile of pillows.

He gently pulled it out and examined it. It was a rag doll. A _fairy _rag doll. Complete with its own wings and wand along with a tutu.

He knew Talia would love this.

On the walk over, she went on and on about how she took ballet lessons from a _real live _French ballerina while they lived in France.

She ran up to him and held up an art easel. "Can I? _Please?" _

He nodded, "If you can find any room in the cart."

Tali nodded, "I can. Thank You." She slid the easel up into the car on top of the giant kid-driven Barbie car box. She looked at the rag doll in his hand. "Wow, she's pretty…"

"You want her?" he asked.

She nodded, "_Please." _She breathed.

He smiled and handed it to her, "My little cousin had a doll like that when I was little, we played with it all the time."

Tali squeezed the doll tightly, "I'll carry her forever."

"Does she get a name?"

Tali nodded, stopped, and thought about, "Anabelle."

"That's a very pretty name."

"Thank You." Her eyes bulged and she tugged on his sleeve, "Daddy! Daddy! Look it! Look it! _I want that!" _she ran over to the item as he tried to get his butt unstuck.

"Okay, we may have to buy this…" he mumbled. Tali ran back over to him, "Come on."

"Can you help, fair maiden?"

Tali giggled and tugged on his arm, not allowing Anabelle to fall. "We may need some butter." He mumbled as the six year old pulled him free.

Before he had a chance to catch his breath, Tali pulled him over to an aisle where girly items littered the shelves.

She pointed to the very top one, "If you love me, you'll buy it."

He stood on the tips of his Armani shoes, only for his daughter, he thought as he grabbed the Home Ballet Kit complete with a barré, "Please." Talia begged.

He sighed, "Only for you."

"Yay!" she hugged his leg tightly, "You're the coolest daddy ever!"

He looked down at her, only for a brief second, as something else caught her eye, and he began to wonder. It wasn't like they had deliberately talked about everything in front of her, and unless Ziva had said something to her…

"Hey, Talia…" Tony called as he ran to find her.

Talia stood up from her end of the cart, "Yes?"

He bent down to her level, "How did you know I was your papa?"

Talia shrugged and played with Anabelle's crown, "Mommy talked about you all the time. She said you had em'rald eyes and nice looking hair." She giggled, "And expensive shoes."

"But did mommy tell you not to talk to strangers when she dropped you off? How did you know who was who? How did you know what floor?"

"I asked the front desk."

"And they just let you go up?"

Talia nodded, "I was too cute to pass up. Plus, mommy said we weren't going to see just _anybody _we were going to see _fam'ly. _She said my father was there, and grandpa, and Aunties, and Uncles, and stuff. She said this was her old family and that I could…_trust _them. Yeah! That's that she said." She placed her hands on his shoulders, "Mommy said she fell in love with you because you and her made beautiful music and you had a good Robert Wagner."

He grinned and wiggled his eyes, "Really? What do you think?" he said in his best RJ impression. Talia frowned, "I think she was tone deaf and you sound more like a wounded moose than RJ."

"Oh! So you wanna quote movies!"

Talia nodded, "The Game Plan. My mommy also said that you did a lot of impressions. I think _that's _why she loved you."

Tony raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah?"

Talia nodded, "Yeah because when she said that, she twirled one of her hairs and that's _girl code _for liking someone. Or that's just what my cousin Areli says…"

"I think Areli may be right." He said as he stood up. "Come on, let's get this stuff paid for."

Talia nodded and linked her hand into his larger one, "How come we lived in 'Taly, and you lived _here?" _

Tony shrugged, "Because Mommy had to go away for a while."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. When I talk to her, I'll ask her, okay?"

Talia nodded, "Okay."

He looked at everything in the cart, "And you're sure you're going to play with _all _of this?"

Talia nodded, "Yeah. Thank you!" she wiggled her index finger signaling him to bend down. He did as he was instructed and she kissed his cheek, "Mm, mommy was right, your cheeks are soft."

"Okay, what _else _did mommy tell you?"

"Hey! Wait a second…We can't have a ballet studio with a _leotard._"

"There's a dance wear store around the corner." The cashier said. Tony smiled and nodded, "Guess our shopping adventure isn't done yet."

As her father loaded the items onto the conveyer belt, and the cashier scanned Anabelle, something caught Talia's eye, and it wasn't a toy.

She ran up to the blonde haired, blue eyed boy, "Hi! I'm Talia."

He smiled, "I'm Marco and my dad is from _Italy." _

Talia gawked at him, "So is _my _dad."

"My dad is a business man though; he has a big building…"

Talia shrugged, "My dad is a p'lice off'cer."

"Aw! Lucky!"

"Talia, come on, it's time to go." Tony said as he wrote down his address for the delivery as there was _no _way they would all fit in his car.

"Aw, but I was talking to Marco."

"I know, but we have to go."

"Just one more min-" All of a sudden she was yanked off her feet and they were heading out the door.

"Hey! I was talkin' to him."

"I know." Tony said.

"I thought you would like my future husband because-"

"Tali, don't say that ever again."

"What because?"

"No."

"Thought?"

"No. Future Husband."

"Why? Are you my jealous husband?"

* * *

"Okay, since we got all this girly stuff and you're part DiNozzo we gotta get you some sports stuff." Tony said as he led her into a sports shop.

Talia looked up him curiously, "But dancing is a sport daddy."

"You've been brainwashed by your mother…"he mumbled under his breath.

"Ah-ha!" he said as he held up a mitt. "How about T-ball?"

"Like the steak?"

Tony let his head droop, "Tali, who is roadrunner?"

"Uh, the best _cartoon ever!" _

He let out a breath, "Oh thank god! I was going to cry if you didn't know who that was."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because your mom didn't know who James Bond was until she met me."

"Wow…"

"Okay, so we're gonna get a soccer ball, a basketball, some baseballs, and-"

"Ribbon."

"Ribbon?"

Talia nodded, "So I can twirl it."

"My next door neighbor has some ribbon, so we're good on that. So, we have your ballet shoes, and your leotard and tutu. Anything else?"

"Ice skates!"

"It's almost November…and there's no snow."

"So?"

She clung onto his arm, "Please?"

He sighed, "Fine. But only because I never got you a birthday present."

"You owe me lots." She grinned.

* * *

**Review for more chapters! **


	8. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

"We're back!" Talia shouted as she and her father walked into the bullpen wearing matching glittery nails and flip flops.

EJ gave him a puzzle look, "It's a long story…" he said as he sat down.

Talia walked over to EJ and leaned up to whisper in her ear, "He needed a pedicure, bad. It's no wonder why he wears 'pensive shoes! Nasty feet." She shuddered and EJ laughed.

"She's all you in this humor." EJ commented.

Tony smiled, "Thanks."

Leroy Jethro Gibbs entered the bullpen and scooped the almost six year old up, "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a while…"

Talia smiled, "Daddy and I went _shopping!" _

Gibbs chuckled, "You _did?_"

Talia nodded, "Yeah, I got lotsa toys. And I got a basketball, and a soccer ball, and a T-Ball, whatever _that _is. And, oh yeah, I got _ICE SKATES!" _

"Oh really?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are you hungry?"

Talia shrugged, "A little."

"I know there's a slice of pizza in the break room with your name on it."

"Awesome." Talia said as she was let down and dragged Gibbs along. "Is it spelled in pepperoni?"

Just as the silver-haired fox left, the energetic Goth arrived, "Tony!" she hugged him firmly. "Where'd you go?"

"Oh, me and Talia went shopping…"

Abby cocked an eyebrow, "She's more like her mother than I thought…" he answered.

"You didn't spoil her did you?" Abby asked. "Because that's my job."

Tony scoffed, "No! Of course not! Anthony DiNozzo is a playa, and a playa _cannot _be played. Playa's-"

Talia ran over to her desk, "Daddy! Daddy! Did you know they have an American Girl store here?"

"…..Sure." he said after a long pause.

"Can we go?"

"Of course princess." She ran over and hugged his neck tightly. "Oh, and make sure you don't mess up your toes, I'm sure Mommy will want to see them."

"Promise."

Talia smiled and linked hands with Gibbs once more and the two left.

Tony looked sheepishly up at the Goth, "What can I say? She's got those brown eyes and the way she says _Daddy, _how can you say no?"

"Looks like the playa, go _played." _

**B**

8:56

Four more minutes.

He knew she was probably pulling into the parking lot and his stomach was in knots.

Talia fell asleep in Gibbs's arms and he did not seem to mind.

"So…am I calling Child Services?" McGee whispered quietly.

"Why would we?" he looked at Tony. "We've got next of kin right here."

Talia was slowly passed to her father, who had a panicked look on his face, "Boss, I-we, Jeanne and I, she's gonna kill me. I-"

Gibbs looked his senior agent in the eye, "This little girl is _your _priority right now. Not Jeanne, not your job, _her. _It doesn't matter if you just met her, or if you've known her, her entire life. She is _yours. _She is not a dog or a toy that you can play with whenever. She gave you her heart, now did you give her yours? Can you promise her that?" he slapped the back of Tony's head. "You understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, now your girlfriend is about to kill you we're _ALL _going to leave. And I don't think four is a good age for domestic violence." Gibbs whispered as he ushered them all out and took Talia on his hip as Jeanne stood there in front of his desk.

"Who was that?" Jeanne asked as he pulled away after kissing her cheek. "Is that your cousin you always talk about? She adorable, is she, visiting?"

"Uh, no…"

"Well, it can't be your niece because you're an only child and you said all of your cousins are boys. Is this part of the case?"

"Sorda."

"What does, _sorda, _mean? Is she the victim's daughter, or something? You guys do that all the time. It's so nice of you during such a hard time for-"

"Jeanne," He pulled another chair in front of him and gestured for her to sit down. She did and looked at him curiously, "What?" she said.

"Don't tell me _you're _the one who's pregnant." She said through a laugh.

He slowly shook his head, "Jeanne, you know I love you."

"What?" She touched his hand. "Are you breaking up with me?"

He shook his head quickly and held a hand, "No. No. You know that nobody's perfect, me being one of them."

She nodded, "Yes."

"And you know I was a different person before I re-met you."

She nodded, "Okay."

He sighed, "There's no…easy way or normal way to say this. And I wanted to tell you now because if I waited and tried to hide it from you, it would somehow explode in my face."

"Tony, what's going on? Who is she?" Jeanne asked frantically.

"Jeanne….I-I-That's my daughter."

"What?"

"She's my daughter. That's my kid."

"So, you cheated on me…" she stated. "Who was she? Was it EJ? I-"

He shook his head, "_No. _I swear I didn't. We've only been together for three years. She's older than three. I would never do that to you." He touched her cheek. "I love you too much."

She backed away, "Since when? With who then?"

"She's almost six. And…with my old partner. Ziva."

"Wha-Why-How?" she hit him. "You _are not _supposed to have a baby with another woman! It's not…It's-"

"Totally normal in this century and not her fault, and we about to do the same thing."

She hit him once more, "How _could _you be so _irresponsible?_"

She stood up, "We were supposed to have a family _together, _with _our _kids, not mine and another guy's or yours and another woman's. You just _ruined _everything! We-I…I can't do this."

"Jeanne," he said as he stood and grabbed her arms. "Jeanne, this was before I met you. Okay? You remember how everything went down with Ziva. It's not any of my control that she decided to attach. This is my past and she's back for a reason. My past and my present. I can't say this is awesome timing-"

"No, it isn't. They make condoms for a reason. So your past doesn't come running through and messing everything up."

"I know you're upset. I would be too but, Jeanne, you have to listen to me-"

"But this isn't _our _baby."

"But it is _my _baby."

"So, you don't want a family with me?"

"I never said that."

"You need to decide." She said as she jerked her arm from his grasp and wiped a few tears from her damp face. "Because as of right now, we're through."

"Daddy! Daddy!" Talia cried as she ran in from the bullpen with Abby quickly trailing. Tears were streaming down her face, also.

He bent down and picked her up, "Hey, what's wrong? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Bad dream." She mumbled into his neck.

"Oh really?"

She nodded, "Okay, you're safe now. No monsters." He murmured into her ear.

Talia wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, "Sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

He turned back around to see the space empty, and Jeanne gone.

He sighed, "I stop one girl from crying, and one keeps on going."

* * *

He turned the key to his apartment and walked in, figuring he'd bring all the bags in once Talia was asleep. He dropped her onto the couch and walked into his bedroom.

She looked around curiously and peered over at the coffee table. She reached over to touch a funny looking pen box when a voice shouted, "Don't touch that!"

She giggled.

Tony quickly appeared back in the living room and handed Talia his old OSU shirt and a toothbrush, "I think through our shopping we forgot to get pajamas."

"Oh yeah."

"Well, go get changed." He said as he picked her up and set her near the bathroom.

Talia looked confused, "…Aren't you going to help me?"

"What?"

"Mommy always helps me get ready for bed. It's part of the rit'ral."

Tony sighed from his seat on the couch, "You're a big girl, and I'm tired."

"_Daddy." _

"Okay, okay, daddy's coming." Tony said.

He grumpily stood up and got Tali showered, pajamed, and brushed and placed her in his bed surrounded by pillows.

He kissed her forehead, "Goodnight, Tali."

"Aren't you going to sleep with me?"

"Mommy doesn't sleep with you, does she?"

"No…" Talia sighed, "Just for a little bit?"

He sighed, "Alright." He climbed in next to her and grabbed a pillow. To make matters worse, it was the left side of the bed, which was strict Jeanne territory so all the pillows and sheets smelled like her.

"Okay, now go to sleep."

Talia sighed once more, "I'm not tired…"

"How about I tell you a story?"

"Okay."

"Okay, so there once was a princess who married a prince. The End."

"That's not a story!"

"It is in my book."

"Well…then tell a million more of those!"

"Fine, in the epilogue, they had a million babies who married very nice people and they each had a million babies and that's how the Earth started."

Talia gave a straight-face, "What?"

"How about a movie?" He said as he sat up, and groaned as he grabbed for the remote. He handed it to her, "…Just don't watch any porn." He mumbled as he fixed his pillow.

"What's porn?" Talia asked as she laid down on her stomach at the foot of the bed.

"Something you'll never be involved in. Agreed?"

"'Greed. Night daddy."

"Goodnight, Ninja."

"You said that to mommy a lot didn't you?"

He looked up at the stars, through his window, "I only said it to her once. Right as the clock struck midnight."

"Oh, like Cinderella!"

"Yeah," he smiled. "Except your mother was much more beautiful." He looked at Tali. "You _both _are."

"Well, obviously, Cinderella had brown roots showing through the _entire _movie. Couldn't fairy godmother give her some magic hair dye?"

"Tali?"

"Yes?"

"Next time I get a speeding ticket, I want you to be my lawyer."

Talia smiled, "Not you too…I have to be Mommy's lawyer, _a lot._"


	9. Chapter 7

**And now to the next chapter, as this Author Note will be short. And I'm just saying now, DON'T HATE ME! **

**Disclaimer still applies...**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_SpongeBob Squarepants! SpongeBob Squarepants!SPONGEBOB SQQUAREPANNNTTS!_

He rolled over and felt for Talia and/or the remote.

The other side of the bed was made and cold, signaling she had been gone for a while. And still, he found no remote. He hung upside down from the bed and found it in one of his shoes, as a holder, telling him it was there for a reason.

He clicked the 'Off' button and licked his lips.

He opened his mouth to call out her name when he heard a giggle. _Two _giggles.

"_You don't put bananas in pancakes, AJ!" _he heard Talia shriek.

"Who the hell is AJ?" He mumbled to himself as he quickly stumbled from the bed and opened his bedroom door.

Talia and Jeanne stood at his counter. Jeanne holding a whisk in one hand and balancing the five year old on her hip, in another. They didn't notice him standing there as they went on giggling.

"Okay, bananas aren't required _but _you have to put in the secret ingredient." Jeanne whispered.

"What's that?" Tali asked.

She picked up a nearby measuring cup and took a pinch of the unsaid ingredient and sprinkled it in the air, "Fairy dust."

"Whoa." Talia breathed.

Jeanne laughed quietly, "It's just powdered sugar."

Talia smiled, "Oh."

"You see, my mom always said that powdered sugar belongs _inside _the pancakes and then whipped cream goes _on top." _

"What about the chocolate chips?"

Jeanne tapped a powdered sugar covered finger on Talia's nose, "They go in _after _the top secret ingredient."

"Right."

"But you have to promise not to tell." Jeanne held out a pinky. Talia grinned and wrapped her tiny pinky with Jeanne's, "I _swear." _

"Can I be let in on this promise?" Tony called.

"Daddy!" Talia yelped as she tore from Jeanne's arms and ran over to him. She held her arms up and was set lopsidedly, "You sleep late." She commented as she flattened his hair. She laughed, "Your hair is like a porcupig."

He pressed a small kiss to her temple, remembering when Ziva said the exact same thing.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Almost noon." Jeanne said softly.

"I'been awake for a _long _time." Talia said. She held up seven fingers, "This long!"

"You've been up since five?"

Talia nodded, "I always get up at five. Me and mommy go running at six. Duh."

He looked at his living room which was scattered with opened toys and boxes. He looked at his plasma which was currently showcasing how to do some fancy ballet move.

"I see you got the ballet thing working."

Talia nodded, "I read French too ya know." She smiled, "I put on my tutu and le'tard by myself." She pointed at Jeanne, "But AJ helped me with by ballerina bun. You can't do ballet without a ballet bun!"

Tony glanced at Jeanne, before back at his daughter, "I think we need to set some rules, Tali, like not opening the door for strangers."

Talia confusedly looked at him, "She open door. I just play with her."

He bent down and placed Talia on the floor, "Tali why don't you go clean up a little why I talk to Jeanne…"

Talia nodded, "Yes sir!"

He turned and headed into his bedroom and waited for Jeanne to follow. When she did, he shut the door, "What are you doing here?"

Jeanne sighed, "I came to apologize…about last night."

He raised an eyebrow; she sat on the bed, "I…I'm sorry. I guess I took things a little badly. I was selfish. It's just, it's not exactly every day the love of your life realizes he has a child."

"I was hurt." Tony said. "She's my daughter. You acted like she was some piece of garbage or something."

"I know. I'm sorry," she stood and touched his cheek. "She is your daughter, she's funny and smart and everything she should be. And, I'm glad you stepped up. I'm sorry I was so pig-headed."

He removed her hands, "I understand you were upset but it's not like I cheated on you and you threw it in my face like it was like that. And then you bring Tali into it."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just…I only saw that you had a child, with another woman, and, it…wasn't part of my white-picket fence plan. All I saw was custody-battles and drama."

He tucked a curl behind her ear, "Stop worrying and planning the future. You can't plan the future. I love you and I would _love _to have a family with you but now, _right now, _I have another person depending on me and I have another part of my equation to figure out. Jeanne, I don't know how to figure it out yet."

"So…What does that mean, with us?"

Tony sighed, "I do believe it was the young French doctor who said we were through." He touched her cheek. "But that doesn't mean I have to believe her."

She gave a small smile, "Just not right now." he finished.

She looked up at him with her exotic eyes, "I gave you three years. Let me give her just as much." he murmured against her lips.

She linked her hands with his, "I understand, and I'm glad you're not a dead beat dad," she stood on her tip-toes, "I'm glad you stepped up…I'm glad you're you." She brushed her lips against his slowly and ran a hand over his cheek. "I know you said you needed time with her, but, I think you'll need a little help with ballerina buns."

He chuckled, "I don't think I'm that bad."

"Oh yeah?" she asked. "What goes up under a leotard?"

"…A tutu?"

"Of all the movies, you've seen you've never seen a ballet one?"

"No."

"…We've got a lot of work to do."

* * *

**DON'T HATE ME! You know I wonder never lead you down this path if it wasn't for nothing. **

**I can promise, not _too _much Jeanne/Tony 'fluff' (...otherwise known to some people as digusting...) **

**P.S. I will be out-of-town for about a week so I will have no internet but plenty of time to write! So make it worth while! Your reviews are music to my ears!**

**Sincerely, **

**!~Broken Piece~!**


	10. Chapter 8

**So , if you paid attention to the previous post you got a sneak peak at the next chapter (sorry) here's the ACTUAL one. **

**The disclaimer still applies...**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

After a quick breakfast it came to both their attention that besides toys, Tony's home was anything _but _child-friendly. That _and _he didn't have any clothes or food for her.

That meant only one thing.

_More shopping. _

"No! I wanna wear _this!" _Talia said as she pointed to one of his suit jackets while her father tried to convince her to wear the clothes she arrived in.

"Talia, those are expensive." He told her.

She pulled a tie down from the rack and tied it in a perfect Windsor knot around her neck, "Let's go!"

"Talia, no."

Jeanne came up behind him, "Rule One, girls don't wear the same thing twice."

Tony smirked over his shoulder, "Now you tell me," he turned back to Talia, "How about if we wash it? Huh? Would you like that?"

Talia scrunched her face, "_No." _

"Hey Talia, how about some _scrubs?" _Jeanne asked as she bent down.

"Scrubs?"

Jeanne nodded, "They're _super-comfy _and _very _stylish._" _

"What color are they?" Tali asked.

"What's your favorite color?" Jeanne asked.

"Purple."

Jeanne smiled, "Purple it is then."

* * *

"Where 'we goin'?" Talia asked as she swung hands with Jeanne in her freshly cut scrubs.

"Well, you kinda need clothes since you're only gonna wear those once." Tony answered.

Talia smiled up at him and took his free hand that was not pushing a shopping cart and swung it in the same fashion, "Love you." She giggled.

"And we don't have any fruity cereal." He added.

"Yucky." Talia made a face. "Yucky eggs."

"But I think clothes are more important."

"I have an idea." Jeanne said.

"Uh oh…" Talia said. "Not good."

Jeanne laughed, "You haven't even heard it yet silly."

"Daddy says your ideas, no good."

Jeanne flicked an evil look at him, "My ideas are better than his. Like his marshmallow helmet idea."

"It was safety _and _delicious."

Talia looked up at her supposed caregivers, "What?" she questioned.

"How about me and Talia go shopping for clothes and you get the kid cereal," she smirked, "I mean you are still a kid at heart right?"

Tony wiggled his tongue at her, "_Fine." _

Jeanne held out her hand expectantly, Talia did the same. He reluctantly handed her the credit card that led to their joint account.

He gave Talia a high five, she in turn, asked for a real one.

* * *

"Polka dots or Stripes?" Jeanne asked as she held up two shirts, Talia shrugged, "The stripes I guess…"

"We'll just get both. Daddy won't mind." Jeanne said nonchalantly as she placed several more items in the already crowded cart. "Daddy's gonna be broke after this…You might actually have to pay for college."

Talia nodded, "Okay…" she walked over to another rack and checked out a pair of shoes, "So, AJ, what do you do?"

"I'm a doctor."

"What _kind _of doctor?"

"Uh, mainly an emergency room doctor."

"Could you give someone a new _brain?" _

Jeanne nodded, "I suppose."

"Could you deliver a baby?"

"Yes."

"Oh….So, how do you know daddy?" Tali asked casually as she placed a pair of tennis shoes in the shopping cart.

"We, uh, we're…going out."

"Going out where?"

"Together."

"Well, _yeah, _so are you going on a cruise together? I like boats, can I come?"

"I meant we're _dating _Tali."

"_Dating what?" _

"Each other!"

Talia scrunched up her face, "Why?"

"Because we like each other." Jeanne said as she pressed a blouse against her. "I think this is pretty on you."

"What kind of doctor are you?" Tali demanded. "You can get _cooties _from dating."

"No, Tali that's called Sy-…never mind."

Tali shrugged, "As long as you're not a drug dealer, monkey, gold-digger, rhino, or-"

"Trust me Tali; I'm not any of those things."

"Good." She eyed the French beauty. "Do you _love _him?"

Jeanne's hand stopped on a frilly dress, she nodded slowly, "Yes, of course. We've been together for three years."

Tali whistled, "That's a long time."

"I know," Jeanne sighed. "Now we're trying to take the next step."

"You're gonna go into the men's _bathroom?" _Tali asked.

Jeanne shook her head and stepped back from the men's restroom entrance, "No, metaphorically. I mean we wanna have a baby."

"But you're not married."

"So?"

"Mommy says only married people have babies."

Jeanne smiled, "We might get married."

Talia grew quiet, but only for a moment, "Any more questions?" Jeanne called over her shoulder.

"May I have some candy?"

Jeanne nodded, "Sure. Now, pink or purple?" She turned around and froze as Talia pried open her pack of birth control and popped three pills.

"Talia, no, no," she threw the clothes down and ran over to the child. "Talia. That's not candy. Spit it out."

Talia made a face and spit the pills out into Jeanne's hand. "Yucky. Blues are normally the good ones."

"Talia, these _are not _candy. These are _my _pills. My birth control pills."

"I co'mend you on trying to control the over'pop'lation."

Jeanne shook her head, "No. They're so I won't have a baby."

"I thought you wanted a baby."

"I do, but it helps with my tommy aches."

"Why do you have tummy aches? Did you eat too much candy? That's why _I _get tummy aches."

Jeanne shook her head and laughed, "No. That's not why."

"Then why?"

"Because…of Uncle Tom."

Talia gave her a confused look, "I have an Uncle Amir, and an Uncle Tim, and an Uncle Jimmy. But I've never met an Uncle Tom. Who's Uncle Tom?"

Jeanne rubbed a braid in Talia's hair, "_Trust me, Talia, _every girl has an Uncle Tom."

"Will I ever meet him?"

Jeanne nodded, "When you get a _little _bigger."

Talia grinned, "I can't _wait!" _

Jeanne stood up, "You won't be saying that for long. Come on; let's go clean your mouth out."

"But I didn't say bad words."

Jeanne nodded, "Just to make sure your stomach doesn't get any of those…chemicals, okay?"

"Are they bad chemicals?"

Jeanne shook her head, "They're just grown up chemicals...for Uncle Tom."

"Oh. Uncle Tom sure is busy."

* * *

"Tony and AJ sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes the love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby carriage." Talia sang happily as she sat in the backseat in her recently bought car seat playing her toy ponies.

"Of all the things you could have told her." Tony whispered to Jeanne.

"I'm sorry. She asked." Jeanne whispered back regretfully.

"You could have lied."

"And said what?" she questioned.

"I don't know. I thought European people were excellent liars."

"You're from Italy, daddy. That's in U'Rope. That's what it says on the map. How come everything is in English here? Do you guys have an Eiffel tower? Do you guys eat _frogs _over here? We ate _snails _in France. They were yucky."

"Hey, Tali, how about you sing another song for us." Tony said as he tried to focus on the road.

Talia nodded, "Okay," she tapped her chin. "I got one! Jeannerella dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss her fellow, made a mistake she kissed a snake, how many doctor's did it take? One, two, three, four, five-"

"Next song Talia."

"Jeannerella dressed in blue, went upstairs to tie her shoe, made a mistake and tied a knot, how knots will she makes? One, two, three, four, five…"

"You have to admit, Jeannerella is a nice name." he whispered to her as Tali continued.

"Jeanneralla dressed in green, went downtown to buy a ring, made a mistake and bought a fake, how many days before it breaks? One, two, three-Oops."

"What? What, happened?"

"I dropped my pony."

Jeanne turned around in her seat, "Here, I'll get it."

"I can do it."

"Tali, no, let Jeanne get it. You're not supposed to get out of that seat while we're driving."

"Fine." Talia said.

Tony sighed and shook his head, suddenly heard a rustling and the seat belt slipping in and out of its carrier.

He looked over at Jeanne who was answering a phone call, "Tali, hey, now is not the time for a ninja move!" he called over his shoulder.

"I'm trying to get my doll."

"I said let Jeanne get it," he got Jeanne's attention, "Can you just get her doll?"

"I already did." Jeanne said. She turned around and smiled as she watched Talia wiggled her braid out of seatbelt and slid onto the other seat, "That thing makes my butt sweat."

Tony sighed, "You ninja's are so damn picky."

* * *

**Review!**


	11. Chapter 9

**Okay, so some people have already read this chapter (after being taken down because it was the wrong chapter) but anyway, onto the next one!**

**Disclaimer still applies...**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

A persistent little ninja convinced him that ice cream was a necessary stop after shopping. They went to a local ice creamery/bakery and he made sure to lock his car as they all got out.

Talia, watching her father brush his hand against Jeanne's and feeling a ping of what grownups called 'Jealousy', quickly jumped in between them and somehow shimmed up her father's front and wrapped her arms around his neck and dangled. He would then have to use both hands to hold her.

She smiled into his neck.

"Okay, Tali, what do you want?"

Tali shrugged, "I don't know!" she giggled. "You people have different ice creams over here."

"Well, how about vanilla, girls your age like vanilla." Tony said.

Talia shook her head, "Mommy says on sim'pil people eat vanilla. Vanilla is sim'pil. I'm not sim'pil."

Tony nodded, "You certainly are not. Well, what about strawberry?"

Talia shook her head, "I'm not allowed to have strawberry."

"Why?"

"It makes me throat scratchy."

"You're allergic to strawberries?"

Talia nodded, "Yes. My arms get all itchy." She pushed herself further back into his arms.

"Duly noted. Well, what about _chocolate?" _

Talia shook her head, "Nah." She pointed. "I want _that one!" _

He read the sign, "You want cookies and cream?"

Talia nodded, "Yummy."

"They have that in France?"

Talia shrugged, "They have cookies, and they have cream." She said simply.

Tony laughed, "You have your mother's brains I know that."

He put in a simple order of a small cookies n' cream for Talia, a French vanilla fro-yo for Jeanne, a mint chocolate chip for himself, and a round of cherry and lemon ice for them all.

Talia grabbed his hand and pulled him over to a table, "Sit next to me daddy." She said eagerly.

Talia and Tony sat on one side, and Jeanne and the other, and waited for their order.

"I never did learn how to play chess." Tony said as he picked up a chess piece that lay on the wall of their table.

"Of all the camps, you never went to-"

"Daddy, I want a unicorn." Talia said cutting her off.

"Can I just get a horse and tape a paper horn to it?"

Talia laughed and shook her head, "No!"

"Well, I'll check on eBay, kay?"

Talia nodded, "I'm going to go wash my hands."

"Did you want Jeanne to go with you?"

"No, I'm fine." Talia said quickly as she slid off the seat and into the nearby bathroom.

Jeanne looked at him pleadingly after the bathroom door closed, "What have I done wrong in the past half an hour?"

"What?" he questioned as the waitress placed down the tray full of frozen treats on the table, he added a red velvet cupcake for Talia to their order.

"She hates me now."

"No she doesn't."

"Yes, she does. The way she jumped in between us. And pulled you over to her side. I mean, she's all over you."

He scoffed lightly, "Are you seriously jealous of a five year old?"

"I'm _almost _six." Talia said as she appeared from behind their booth.

Jeanne jumped, "That was fast." She commented coolly.

"Mini-ninja! Stop acting like your mother."

Talia laughed as she kneeled in her seat, "Mommy says you called her ninja _a lot." _

He nodded, "Well it was between ninja and Pocahontas, Probie, and-No, that one is for McGee."

"Stop being so hard on McGee." Jeanne said to him. "He's not a Probie anymore."

Tony patted his heart, "No. He'll always be _Probie _in my heart."

"Name calling isn't nice, daddy." Talia reminded him.

"It's not name calling, per say. It's like me calling Jeanne, _Sleeping Beauty_." He smiled at her. "It's a compliment."

"But sleeping beauty was blonde." Talia said bluntly.

Jeanne frowned, "It's a metaphor." Tony said gently.

"What's a metaphor?" Talia asked inquisitively.

"It's a figure of speech." Jeanne said.

Talia sighed, "You say that a lot."

"I talk in metaphors a lot." Jeanne responded.

Talia raised an eyebrow, "_Ob'biously." _

The French-beauty raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend, and nudged him under the table and cocked an eyebrow. Tony seeing nothing wrong with his child, decided instead of sleeping on the couch for another night he tried to make amends, "So, Tali, you know Jeanne knows some ballet. She could teach you some moves if you want."

Talia nodded, "That's nice…" She sighed in a bored manner.

"And, uh, she was valedictorian in her class." Tony continued.

Talia sighed, "Big word…again."

"It means I was at the top of my class."

"My cousin Avi says only nerds sit at the front of the class."

"No, it means I had the highest GPA."

"Okay, you guys need to write a dictionary." Tali said after a lick of her cone.

"It means Grade Point Average. _Which means _I had the highest _A _in my class."

"You bru'ette's sure take _forever _to get to the point." Tali commented.

"But you're a brunette." Jeanne replied as she nudged Tony once more.

"Not by choice." Tali countered.

Tony chuckled, "Oh, really? What color do you want your hair to be?"

"I want pink, purple, and red 'reaks!"

"Jeanne could do that for you." He told her quickly.

"Let me see a 'gree first. Just 'cause you can work on someone's brain doesn't mean you're working on my _hair." _

Suddenly, there was a ring. He glanced at his pocket and speedily pulled out his cellphone. "I'll be right back." He stood up, "Don't kill each other." He added quickly.

He leaned over and kissed Jeanne's forehead, "Be the bigger person."

She smirked up at him before he leaned over and kissed Talia's head, "I'm five and three quarters." She whispered to him.

He smiled before walking over to a quiet corner of the store, "Probie for once you saved my life."

"_Why what's going on?" _

"I have a cat-fight on my hands. Like the good old days."

"_Between who?" _

"Tali and Jeanne. Tal's pulling a _major_ Ziva."

"_She is Ziva's kid. Those genes were a given." _

"Yeah, well I'm afraid Tali might kill Jeanne with an ice cream spoon."

"_Ziva did say she could kill someone eighteen different ways with a paperclip." _

"That's what I'm afraid of. Tali's hand is drifting awfully close to that napkin dispenser. But anyway, McProbalicous, what'd you call me for?"

"_Oh yeah, boss wanted to talk to you." _

He heard the phone being switched from one person to another and his boss voice entered the phone, "_How you holdin' up?" _

"Fine. But I think I may have to file a murder charge against my own daughter."

"_Who's she planning to kill? You?"_

"No, Jeanne."

"_Jeanne?" _

"It's a long story."

"_So, she doesn't like Jeanne." _

"Well, she did at first…Now; it's a giant power tussle, over me."

"_They're not used to sharing you." _

"I've only known Tali for a day. Jeanne's had me to herself for three years."

"_So, tell her that." _

Tony sighed, "Something tells me it won't be that easy."

"_No it won't."_

"So, you called to check in?"

"_No. You need to come in and file leave papers." _

"Boss, I swear there's nothing going on between me and EJ. Tell Vance I don't want that Antarctica position."

"_I meant so you could get Tali settled and learn how to be a father, because it's OBVIOUSLY causing you difficulties." _

"Okay, I had a little problem with the whole Fruity Pebbles and Trix crap, but otherwise I'm okay."

"_DiNozzo, tell me something." _

"Sure, boss."

"_Tali isn't going to sleep on some newspaper and drink from the toilet, right?" _

* * *

Gibbs chuckled as he watched as his oldest senior field agent wearily trudged into the bullpen. One hand clutching Talia against his chest and the other gripping Jeanne's hand tightly.

"In this day in age, I couldn't have just filed it online?" he asked.

His boss chuckled, "Vance needed them personally."

Abby suddenly came screeching into the squad room, "Tali! Tali!"

Tony held up a hand, "If you wake her up I will load her up on Caf-Pow and make her stay with you for a week, clear?"

Abby nodded, "Crystal. Can I hold her though?"

Tony nodded, "Sure, just watch the iPod."

Abby nodded and carefully took the sleeping bilingual child into her arms, careful not to unplug the iPod in her ears, or the blanket keeping her warm.

"What's she listening to?" Abby asked quietly.

"Uh….Some old dead dude-"

"Mozart." Jeanne replied. "She's likes classical music."

"Ziv probably played it so much while she was pregnant that's the only thing she knows."

Jeanne sighed and leaned against Tony's desk, "She just fell asleep. Maybe twenty minutes ago."

"You guys looked relieved." Abby giggled.

"I almost died." Tony said. "Cat fight."

"Aw," Abby said as she brushed a piece of Talia's hair from her face, and bounced her lightly, "She's too small and nice to have a cat fight. All though…she is Ziva's daughter, so anything's possible…"

"I don't remember Ziv being a night owl." Tony remarked.

"What do you mean?"

"She was up all night until, like, three, and then she woke up at five or whatever this morning."

Abby laughed, "You messed up her schedule, probably."

"What?"

"Ziva probably had her on a schedule. You know naps, bath time, lunch and stuff. And yesterday was probably a _major _shock to her little body," she smirked. "Let me guess, all you gave her was sugar…"

"No…" Tony said slowly.

"What'd she have for breakfast?"

"Pancakes and apple juice."

"Sugar-goodness. She probably just, you know, crashed."

"Hey, she asked….I can't say no."

Abby smirked.

"Note to self, kids and sugar don't mix…" Tony said as he scratched it down on a piece of paper.

"I strongly suggest you make a schedule up. _Immediately _or crankiness won't be the only thing you'll be dealing with."

"She'll just kill you." Gibbs said as he slid a large stack of papers onto Tony's desk.

Tony looked up at him, his mouth forming a large 'O', "Boss, this has to be like fifty pages." He blubbered.

"Better get started."

Tony groaned and stood, he placed two hands on Jeanne's shoulders, "Are you working today?" he questioned.

She shook her head, "I have today and tomorrow off." She looked up at him, and shook her head as she came onto his conclusion, "No…No. No. Tony, she _hates _me."

"She was probably just tired."

"And what if she really does? You said yourself she could kill someone if she really wanted to."

"And you believed me?"

"I would." Abby spoke up.

"Abby, why can't you watch her?" Jeanne asked.

"I have some chemicals being shipped over that aren't exactly kid-friendly. And I heard we might be having a dangerous suspect come in." Abby said sadly. "I so would though, if I could. She's adorable."

Jeanne eyed Tony cautiously; "You said you wanted a baby…" he smiled at her.

"What if she wakes up and she's hungry? All you have is wine and fancy food…and fruity cereal."

"We'll go grocery shopping. We'll drive together and go grocery shopping later. That's it."

Jeanne raised an eyebrow, "You want me to drive your car?"

"Yeah. I trust you."

She sighed, "Alright." She held out her arms. "Baby, please."

Abby smiled as she passed Talia to her, "Bye Tali."

Talia whimpered and buried her head in Jeanne's shoulder, and seemed to be playing an imaginary piano against Jeanne's heart. She held the child awkwardly and looked tentatively at him.

Talia removed a hand from Jeanne's neck and held it in front of her face, "Crash." She breathed. "Mommy."

Jeanne looked at him sadly before wrapping her up in her arms. And soothingly rocked her back and forth, murmuring quietly. "Mommy's fine. Sh. She's alright."

Talia's hand fell and retracted back to around Jeanne's neck. She gave that family baby sigh and her eyes fluttered.

Jeanne rubbed her back softly, "No, go back to sleep. Sh. Back to sleep."

Talia's breathing began evening out as a soft lullaby began to play.

He smiled at her and held out his keys, "I'll try to hurry." He told her. She held out her free hand and he pressed keys into her palms, "I trust you grasshopper."

Jeanne laughed quietly and nodded, "I will take good care of her, master."

"I was talking about my car."

She rolled her eyes and leaned up to kiss his lips gently; he kissed Tali's head and let her go on her merry way.

Once she was in the elevator, Abby pounced on him, "I thought you two broke up…"

"We did, but when I woke up this morning she and Talia were in my kitchen making pancakes and having a good ol' time."

"And?"

"We talked. She said she was going to try to stop being so controlling and she apologized for everything she said. And she said she wanted to help me since I knew _nothing _about girls."

"And somewhere along those lines you two got back together…"

"I don't think we ever…_broke up, _per say, we just…took a very short break to get our minds and everything back on straight."

"Whatever you say, but it never worked out well for Ross and Rachel." Abby called over her shoulder as she began walking out.

"They had a baby in the end!"

"That got mistaken for a boy a lot!"

"So?"

"It was a girl!"

* * *

"Okay," Jeanne whispered as she opened the apartment door. "We're going to put you down in daddy's bed." Talia, who was still asleep, obliged without resistance and allowed the French doll to place her in her father's bed, tuck her in, and place pillows around her.

Once it was determined that Tali was asleep, and planning to stay there she quietly exited and walked over to a window and shut it tightly.

She then brought in everything from the car and color sorted it, and then sorted it by size. And then sorted all the toys.

Followed by wiping down the whole kitchen.

Afterward, a quick shower and changing into something more comfy before logging onto her laptop and searching kid-friendly meals and activities.

As she read over how to make an origami dragon, hours later, she felt a presence over her shoulder.

"Nice nap?" Jeanne asked tentatively as she turned around, finding a mop-headed and sleepy-eyed Talia wrapped up in Tony's sheets in her undershirt and her Disney princess underwear.

Talia sleepily nodded, "Ken."

"I'll just assume that means yes…Um, are you hungry?"

"Si."

Jeanne sat up, "Let's see what dad has in his fridge." As Jeanne walked over to the kitchen Talia climbed up into a chair at the kitchen bar.

"Let's see, we have…" she trialed off. "No vodka is not for kids." She murmured to herself. "Um, how about pizza squares and orange slices?"

"Yuck."

"Yeah, that does sound like a bad combo." Jeanne laughed. "Um…Oo, what about a quesadilla?"

"Yeah."

"Do all of your words now start with y?" Jeanne asked as she took out two quesadillas, one for Talia and one for herself and set them in the oven.

"Yes." Talia giggled.

"There aren't that many words that start with y." Jeanne reminded her.

"Yeah-huh."

Jeanne checked the clock, "We have to pick up daddy at five, so we have two more hours."

"Yeah…"

"Okay, now I'm going to ask you a question that you have to use a different letter."

Talia smirked, "Yeah, sure you are…"

"Where you born in October?"

"Yes, I was born four months after October."

"When Tony said ninja's were good, he didn't you guys were _that _good."

* * *

**Review! **

**P.S. We're almost at a hundred! Yipee! Thank you so much and keep reviewing! **

**P.S.S. Ziva will "appear" soon! I promise, in probably the second or third chapter for this one. It brings back feelings and rocks Tony and Tali's relationship a little bit. **

**P.S.S.S This will not be a Tony/Jeanne fluff story. **

**!~Broken Piece~!**


	12. Chapter 10

**And I'm back! I apologize for the long wait. I just lost inspiration. For everything. Like every time I would go to write something, I would have no words. I just finished this chapter and I'm really proud of it. I have a really good idea track so I can write more and give you more chapters! Yay! **

**Anyway, on to the chapter. **

**Disclaimer still applies...**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"I see you two are buddy-buddy again." The very Special Agent announced as he slipped into the passenger seat of his vehicle.

Jeanne nodded as she checked her pager and pulled away from the federal building, "We just watched a movie and had quesadillas."

"And you let her play with your phone."

Jeanne eyed him from the corner of her eye, "No…"

Tony smirked as he watched Talia crack the passcode and pull the famous, Ziva Pout, as she began snooping, "Hey Tali," he said as he rubbed her knee. "Did you ask Jeanne for her phone?"

Talia smirked, "I _borrowed _it."

"Don't you have to ask to borrow something first?"

"Not if you _find _it."

He turned and faced his girlfriend, "Why do I think this is some sort of reverse psychology?"

Jeanne laughed, "Because it probably is."

"Hey daddy, what did you say porn was again?" Tali asked.

"Something you're not allowed to be involved in." Her father responded.

"Oh." Tali said simply. "Well, daddy…is porn where you don't have any clothes on?"

Tony looked at Jeanne waywardly, "Sometimes…"

She scrunched up her face, "Aunt Jeanne?"

Jeanne looked up at her through the mirror, "Yes Tali?"

"What do you do again?" Tali asked curiously.

"I'm uh…I am an Emergency Room doctor."

"Oh…So you work as a porn star on the side?"

"What?" Tony questioned.

"She doesn't have any clothes on in this picture, so that's a porn star, right daddy?"

"Uh…"

"Aunt Jeanne, you could be a mod-…Daddy what's that in between your-"

"Okay, give me the phone!" Tony shouted as he lunged forward and quickly grabbed the phone from his child.

He looked and Jeanne, "I told you those wouldn't be the best Christmas card photos."

"Dad?"

"Yes, Tali."

"Do you always have a hot dog in between your legs?"

* * *

"I want donuts! I want donuts!" Tali chanted as the small and blended family strolled through the grocery store and pushed a shopping cart.

Tony nodded, "Okay, we'll get donuts; we just have to get the main food groups first."

"Is pizza one of those food groups?" Tali asked innocently.

Tony chuckled, "I knew there was some of me in you."

Jeanne soon appeared, after disappearing to find a nice selection of fruit, and set them in the cart, "I got some fruit-"

"No strawberries, right?"

Jeanne shook her head, "No cherie."

"Great. What else do we need?"

"Um, the usual."

Tony playfully scoffed, "And you think _I _know what is?"

"And what did you ever do when I wasn't around?" she questioned with a mischievous smile. He smirked and tapped her nose, "Pizza and take-out of course."

"That's not very healthy."

"And neither is a ten day dry spell."

She grinned, "That's not my fault."

"It's not _my _fault _ether." _

"You came home from work _late." _

"I came home on time every night."

"Which is _late." _

"Nu-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

He chuckled and pecked her lips. But instead of hearing a shriek of 'Ew!' he felt the cart moved forward as it grew light.

He turned and around to find an empty card, with no Talia, "How does she _do that?" _He whispered as he turned over boxes of cereal, as if a five year old was tiny enough to fit inside.

"Okay, she was there a second ago." Jeanne said calmly. "She's around here somewhere."

"Oh God, what if someone kidnapped her. Jeanne I've seen Law & Order a million times, Jeanne we have a _problem!" _

Suddenly he felt a tug on his leg and he found Talia with half of the stuff on the list, spilling out of her arms. She sighed, "You guys take _forever." _She sighed. "We here for _grocery _shoppin' not _kissin'." _

He picked her up and hugged her tightly, not caring if the bread or cereal was getting squished. "Tali, please don't do that ever again. I was…I'm not gonna say worried, but I mean, a just a tiny bit."

She tapped his nose, "That's what you get for watching too much TV."

* * *

"Tali, Jeanne made dinner. And I don't think Chinese was on the menu."

Talia frowned, "NO." She commanded.

"Tali, it's really good." Jeanne insisted. "You said you liked spaghetti."

"Not today."

Tony scooped his daughter up; he nuzzled her close, "I will give you whatever you want if you just eat four bites."

"American Girl Doll."

Tony nodded, "Sure. We got a deal?"

Tali nodded, "Yes, Daddy." She held out her pinky and he locked it tightly. He hugged her and pulled her close, "Now you smile and go hug her, and I'll add an extra fifty." He whispered in her ear.

Talia smirked, "Make two hundred and you've got a deal."

"You sound just like your mother."

Talia smiled, "'Voiding the _question." _

"Deal."

He patted her back and gave her a little push. Talia smirked over her shoulder before running over and hugging Jeanne's legs.

"AJ!" she said excitedly.

Jeanne smiled at him as she picked up Tali, "You can help me set up."

She mouthed _Thank You _as Talia pointed to multiple things around the kitchen.

After plates were set, and spoons were washed after Talia stuffed four in her mouth, before the... 'Family' sat down to dinner.

"So, how was your day?" Jeanne asked.

Tony chuckled, "The usual."

Jeanne glared at him over the table, "You didn't glue Tim's fingers to the keyboard did you?"

Tony laughed as he twirled spaghetti on his fork, "You'd think Probie would learn by now."

Talia giggled and held up her small hand, "Nice one daddy."

The two DiNozzo's smacked hands, receiving a disapproving look from the Benoit of the table. "Tony that is not a good example to set."

Talia pulled her legs up and sat on top of them as she slipped a look at her father, "I thought it was funny." She mumbled.

"That's not the point. It wasn't a nice thing to do. And you shouldn't do it either."

Talia rolled her eyes and was able to slip the slightest whisper under her breath, "You're _not _my mom."

Jeanne shook her head disapproving, "I just hope you don't pass it onto _our _children."

"Okay, so how was _your _day?" Tony said in an attempt to change the subject.

Jeanne smirked, "Movies and Quesadillas, honey."

He flashed a smile, "What about you Talia?"

Talia shrugged, "No'thing."

"_Nothing?" _

Talia giggled and shook her head, "No daddy."

"Not a thing?"

"No."

"No cool dreams, from that nap?"

"Well, I had a dream I was a super hero."

"Who was the evil villain?"

Talia shrugged, "MoJo-JoJo."

"Oh, Powerpuff Girls. Good choice." Tony approved.

Talia nodded, "Vorrei che avessimo un cane." _I wish we had a dog._

Tony made a small laugh before nodding, "Si." _Yes. _

"So," Jeanne said. "I was thinking tomorrow we go and show Talia-"

"I prefer Tali." Tali butted in.

Jeanne nodded, "Alright, _Tali, _show her around DC. I think you'd _really _like the International Spy Museum, I've never been myself but some of my coworkers took their sons there a few months ago and they _loved _it."

"I wanna go to American Girl."

"That can be arranged."

"And I wanna feed _'Merican _ducks. When it's raining."

"Why?" Tony asked.

Tali shrugged, "I like ducks. And you don't have a dog."

"Okay." Tony laughed. "I'll check the weather forecast."

"Which reminds me, you know I think Marcy has some boys your age, and a little girl. Maybe you guys could have a play date!"

Talia made a face, "I don't play well with others."

Jeanne laughed nervously, "Well, what are you going to do when your dad and I have our baby? And you have siblings?"

Both manicured eyebrows flew up, "Who said you guys were having a baby?"

Jeanne shrugged, "Well, I mean, you never know."

"Well, I don't want to know! I don't _WANT_ daddy to have a baby!"

"Well, technically daddy wouldn't be having the baby." Jeanne said simply.

"NO!" Tiny fists made contact with the table and Talia flew from the table and up the stairs to the loft, "And that's _NOT _spaghetti!" she cried before slamming the door.

Tony sighed and glared at his girlfriend, "She _just _got here, and of _all things _you could have sprung on her."

"It's a big possibility."

He angrily shook his head, "No it's not, Jeanne!"

"There's only one main way to get a _baby _Tony."

He stood and dropped his plate in the sink, "Not if you don't do that _thing _to get a muffin filled with frosting."

Her eyebrows knitted together, "What?"

He sighed and shook his head, "We're not gonna have a baby Jeanne."

"Why not?" she questioned.

"I-I…I haven't been…._preforming." _

She tripped over several words before finally getting out, "You've been…_faking?" _

"Yeah."

"B-but guys can't do that. Only girls can."

"Well, obviously I've been doing a good job."

"Why?"

He shrugged, "I…I dunno. Can we talk about this later? Knowing Ziv, I'm sure Tali is probably transferring half of my bank account to somewhere in the Cayman Islands." He took off up the stairs.

"Wait, no, we have to talk about this!"

She followed him up the stairs where he was attempting to open the door, "You got a bobby pin?" he questioned.

"That only works in the movies." Jeanne said coldly.

He rolled his eyes and pressed all his weight into his shoulder and pushed it open.

He looked around the room and found his futon and his stereo system but no Talia.

"Talia." He called out.

"Do you have a closet?"

He shook his head, "She came up here right?"

Jeanne nodded, "This is the only place where the stairs lead."

He got down on all fours and looked up under the futon, and then crawled over to the stereo system. He noticed the four inch crawl space in between the stereo and the futon.

"Tali, are you in my speaker?"

"Go away!"

"Tali, Jeanne didn't mean to make you sad. She's _really _sorry."

"No I'm not." Jeanne whispered.

He hit her foot, "_Aren't you?" _He growled.

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, I'm…_Sorry, _Talia."

"TALI!" she screamed and began to cry again.

He pulled Jeanne down next to him, "Tali, we're sorry. I'm sorry. But I can't help you if I don't know why you don't want us to have a baby."

"She doesn't have a choice in this." Jeanne whispered to him.

"_But I do." _Tony whispered back to her.

"L'ee me alone." Tali blubbered.

"Tali, I'm sorry. Come out, whatever it is I'll fix it. Do you not want a brother because he'll leave the toilet seat down like me? Because I _swear _I'll teach him to pee sitting down. I swear."

Jeanne's face became puzzled, but Tony went on, "Or is it because you don't want a sister because you won't be my little girl anymore. Because, I swear you still will be. Swear. Pinky Promise."

When the silence was swept around the room, Tony sighed, "Tali. Please answer me. Why not?"

"I don't want to live here anymore." She sniffled.

Tiny pieces of his heart chipped away, "Why not, Tal? I thought you wanted to feed the American ducks."

"French ducks are fine. I wanna go home. With my real mommy."

"Do you feel like I'm trying to replace your mom Tali?" Jeanne asked.

After a questionably long pause Tali was able to peep out a tiny, yes. "And she's not even _gone _yet!'

"Tali, I didn't want you to think like that. I just-I was looking out for you."

"'Ressing me, telling what to eat, that's mommy's job. It's Mommy's job to have babies' wit Daddy, not you."

"Oh." Jeanne said quietly.

"Tali, me and your mom we broke up a long time ago and you know, I met Jeanne and you know, she's nice and pretty and I'm sure your mom has boyfriends."

"But I know Mommy! I no know you!" she cried.

An 'Aw' escaped from Jeanne's lips, "She and baby take you away from me! I don't wanna share you yet! You don't even know my favorite ani'mall."

"Well, tell me, tell me now."

Hush piled into the room and not a word was shed, and seemingly after what felt like an eternity Jeanne dropped her head into her hands, before shaking her head, "I'm going to bed."

She stood up, and without her significant other uttering a word to her, she left.

He stole a glance at the moon which was high in the sky, signaling it was probably close to midnight.

He heard her wiggle around inside the body of the speaker, "Your mom would kill me if she knew you were up this late."

She did not answer, but he knew she was trying her hardest to keep her eyes open.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

He sighed as she still did not say anything, "You know, I didn't think this whole _Ignoring Dad _thing wasn't supposed to happen until you were a teenager."

He heard her move around, "You know those speakers come with padding. They make some nice pillows."

"Can't sleep?" he added. He crawled over and peeled off the front of the speaker and founded a pair of white chocolate eyes, looking sadly at him.

"You look like you lost your best friend." He said. He held out his arms, and she climbed into them, and tucked herself into his chest.

"Wanna go on a car ride?"

She looked up at him, "Just the two of us." He said, without a word from her. She nodded just as thunder crackled.

Down the stairs they went where they both were wrapped up tightly and protected from the rain, but Tony needed his wallet so he slipped into his bedroom.

He tripped on a pair of Jeanne's heels and she awoke, "Tony?" she questioned as she sat up.

"Hi."

"What are you doing?"

"I was just going to take Tali on a little car ride. We're having a tough time sleeping."

Jeanne nodded, "Alright."

There was an awkward silence, and feeling guilty about putting her passion on hold, he leaned across the bed and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry…about tonight." She murmured as he lingered inches from her.

"I know."

"So, just a car ride?"

He nodded, "She's about to pass out, but I don't think she'll just go down."

She fell back against the pillow, "Okay, I don't think I'm invited."

He shook his head, "Daddy Daughter Time."

She nodded and placed a hand on her stomach, "Something wrong?"

She shook her head, "I don't think Spaghetti and Quesadillas mix."

"I think it was just the Spaghetti."

"Well, you ate it too."

He gave her a sheepish grin, "I fed it to the dog, and by dog I mean garbage disposal."

She punched his shoulder, "You suck. You could've lied."

"I thought we weren't supposed to lie in this relationship."

She shrugged, "You can lie about my cooking."

"Noted."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Tali mumbled as Tony drove onto a street and rain poured down. "Come on, I wanna show you something." He parked the car and ran around to the other side of the car.

Tali rubbed her eyes and looked up, "Why are we at the hotel?"

"What do you mean? This is your mom and I…came up with your name."

He lifted her up and ran under the awning where they both shook off rain water, "We stayed here. With Uncle Ryan."

"Oh." He looked up at the hotel. "Well, this is where I kinda…your mom and I _talked _for the first time."

"Did you kiss her?" Tali asked.

He smiled, "Did she tell you that?"

She smiled as he picked her up, "Maybe…"

"Well, you see, Tal, I _wanted _to kiss her _so_ bad."

"_What happened?"_ Tali asked.

"Okay, so, I was out here, with a pizza."

"Why'd you have a pizza?"

"I was hungry. Why _else _would I have pizza?"

"I don't know. Pizza lotion?"

"No…Anyway, I was out here with pizza, to eat, and then it started to rain. And then your mom can up out of _nowhere _and offered me coffee."

"Coffee? With _pizza?" _

"I know. But, that's why I was really cautious about and she assured me it wasn't a bribe. And then she went on about how she knew I was following her-"

"Why were you following her?"

"Because…Did your mom ever tell you about Uncle Ari?"

Tali nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, he did something bad and we thought your mom was in on it-"

"You did?"

Tony nodded, "Well, not me. Gibbs. Not me."

"You were too in love with her?"

He shrugged, "Maybe."

"And then what happened?"

"She kept pushing coffee on me, and then when I finally took one, it was the _other _coffee, that way if it was _poisoned _she would die not me."

"Was it poisoned?"

"Well, you're here aren't you?"

She pinched herself, "Yes, sir."

"Can I continue?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so then she was bragging about Mossad and how she was good at knowing the unknown stuff."

"Like when I eat a cookie before dinner?"

"Yeah like that. And then I said that's what I like about Mossad, their modesty. And then I went to throw the pizza box away and guess what?"

"What?"

"She knew there was a slice in there."

"Did you give it to her?"

"Well, I had to. Or she mighta killed me or something. But, uh, yeah, I gave it to her. And then she told me about Tali, her sister, and how she was super cool and that she missed a lot. And then I grilled her about why she joined Mossad. And then I asked her if she had a boyfriend."

Tony chuckled.

"And she said something _way _inappropriate, trying to avoid the question. But _nobody _can avoid Tony DiNozzo. Nobody. Not even your mom. She said she volunteered. Did I believe it? You can't really tell with your mother, back then. But as the years passed, I could just get a little hint of a lie. Just a little."

He laughed.

"Your mom is a really bad liar. I'm a good liar. She's a bad liar. She's a good ninja. I'm a bad ninja." He kissed her hair, "So you've got some awesome genes. Well, you're part DiNozzo so _obviously _you're gonna have awesome genes. But your mothers are pretty cool too."

He felt her body get heavier and he saw she was asleep, clutching him tightly, "Just not as cool as mine." He murmured as he hoisted her up higher and slid on her hood.

"This is where it all began." He told her. "Love at first sight, really."

His eyes drifted to the sky, it seemed the same as it was the night they met, dark and gray, but you could still see every star in the sky.

He connected the stars with his finger, tracing out Ziva's tattoo; it was Chinese words, Happy and Smile.

He thought those two words applied to Tali very much so, he kissed her forehead, "I'm gonna tell you a secret, a secret that I've never told anybody. Not even Jeanne. I know you can keep it."

He sighed, "I will give up anything for you. Anything. I would have given anything up for your mother." He tucked a curl behind her earl, "I couldn't live without your mother, and I can't live without you." His lips moved closer to her ear, "I still keep those bikini photos in my desk. Shhh. But don't tell Jeanne."

He got a sleepily smile, "Alright, I think I kept you long enough, let's go home."

He tucked Tali into his coat; he walked quickly to his car and strapped her in, tucking her in with a blanket.

He climbed into the driver's seat himself and just sat there for a moment, before Tali said, "Elephant."

* * *

"Mommy likes little marshmallows in her hot chocolate." Tali jabbered several hours later, at a local coffee shop as she and her father sat at a small table, sipping on hot chocolate and donuts.

"I like big marshmallows." Tali revealed as she dropped two into her mug.

Tony nodded, "Me too."

"Small marshmallows are…too small."

He nodded, "You're right."

Tali nodded and took a bite of her donut, getting sprinkles on the table.

He pursed his lips, "So you know, after our all-night car ride along the beaches and streets-"

"And where you and mommy first met."

"No, where we first _talked." _

"Whatever." Talia giggled.

"_Anyway," _He tried to continue on with the conversation. "I know you were mad last night. _But _you know some of the things you said to Jeanne were a little mean."

"Mommy says not to keep things bottled up inside."

"Well, yeah, you shouldn't but you could say them nicely."

Talia shrugged, "She started it."

"But can't you be the bigger person?"

"She weighs like a million more pounds than me!"

Tony glared at her across the table, "She only weighs like one ten."

Tali rolled her eyes, "I weigh thirty-seven."

"Tali."

"Tony."

"You're changing the subject."

"Sorry."

"So, just apologize."

"Why?"

"Because, you know its Jeanne's right to have or not have babies. Trust me; lots of people have been fighting for that."

Tali sighed, "Can't you just get her spayed like Naima, the cat?"

Tony chuckled, "No."

"Well, when my cast started coming off a couple months ago Mommy put duct tape on it, and that stuff _sticks." _

"Tali." He said sternly.

"Fine."

"Good girl."

She growled, "Hey, I haven't got any biscuits on me now." Tony commented.

Tali laughed and they finished their breakfast, and left with Tali splashing in the puddles along the way. He walked to his apartment and unlocked it and left Tali on the couch watching cartoons.

He walked into the bedroom where the bed was empty and the bathroom door closed, "Jeanne?" he shouted.

"I thought you were just going out for a drive." Jeanne called out. "A quick one."

"I couldn't sleep." He said as he sank down onto his bed.

"Well, I would hope not, driving around. Raining, foggy, a kid in the back seat."

He nodded, "Yeah so I just drove in a giant circle. The beaches, parks, and stuff. And then we went to that coffee place down the street. Had breakfast."

"That's nice."

"Didn't bring anything back." He added.

"That's fine." Jeanne sighed as she came out of the bathroom and leaned against the wall. "I can't keep anything down anyway."

He shot her a look of concern, "Must have been the spaghetti."

Jeanne shook her head, "I don't think it was the spaghetti." She said hoarsely.

"Then what do you think it was? If it was old food, I don't want Tali to get sick. Little kids and vomit aren't a good mix. And you know me and bodily fluids…"

Jeanne shook her head, "Tali can't catch this."

"So does this have to do with…_you _and like your aunt_?" _

She sighed, "I'm late, Tony."

"No, actually, _I _was late and I'm _sorry _about it."

"No, I mean I'm _LATE." _

"You have a doctor's appointment?"

She shook her head, "I'll probably have to schedule one though."

"Why?"

She pulled one arm from around her chest and held up a white stick, "I'm Pregnant."

* * *

**Review! **

**P.S. Promise Ziva will be (back) soon! **


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